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THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
ATLANTA ■ SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



THE 
AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



ITS CHARACTERISTICS, ITS FUTURE 
AND ITS PROBLEMS 



BY 
HAROLD WALDSTEIN FOGHT, A.M. 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, MIDLAND COLLEGE 



Nefo got* 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1910 

All rights reserved 






V 



Copyright, 1910, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1910. 



Norton otr Jtoss 

J. 8. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., IT .8. A. 



©01. A 26 17 02 



Co 

THE THOUSANDS OF CONSCIENTIOUS HARD-WORKING 
TEACHERS 

WHO ARE CONSECRATING THEIR LIVES 

TO LABOR IN RURAL COMMUNITIES 

THE HOME OF THE NORMAL AMERICAN LIFE 

DEVOTING THEIR BEST ENERGIES 

TO PREPARE OUR 

TWELVE MILLION COUNTRY BOYS AND GIRLS 

FOR USEFUL CITIZENSHIP 

THIS BOOK 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
BY THE AUTHOR 



PREFACE 

This book is intended for rural school teachers, superin- 
tendents, and schoolboard members ; for teachers' reading 
circles, normal school training classes, and all the public 
at large who are interested in the profound movement to 
make our American rural life richer and its labor more 
effective by means of schools adapted to the changing 
needs of rural society and the demands of modern life. 

So far as the public school is concerned the term move- 
ment is here used advisedly. It is not used in the destruc- 
tive sense. It does not seek out a new base for school 
conduct, nor does it run counter to established laws of 
life and growth. On the contrary, it is constructive in its 
use. It aims at fundamental harmony by facing the rural 
school away from the many artificial interests which have 
hampered the usefulness of this institution in the past. 
Indeed, the new movement strives to place the school 
where the school inherently belongs — in the midst of 
natural interests where it can prepare the youth for sane, 
wholesome lives on the farm — the only normal American 
life of our day. 



Vlll PREFACE 

Broadly speaking, no other subject is now engaging so 
much public attention as is the movement to organize 
rural life. With his usual clearness of vision, President 
Roosevelt sizes it up in these words: " With the single 
exception of the conservation of our natural resources, 
which underlies the problem of our rural life, there is no 
other material question of greater importance now before 
the American people." Our National Executive some 
time ago appointed a commission of experts on rural life 
to investigate and report its needs, with recommendations 
for improvement. This commission has just made a 
voluminous report which sets living and achieving in 
rural communities in their right relation to our national 
life. While sensible and suggestive rather than drastic 
and revolutionary, the report is so thoroughgoing in its 
questionings that we may indeed look to see " the benefits 
of organization, of cooperation, of quick travel, of swift 
communication, all the machinery to prevent waste of time 
and effort," which are even now part and parcel of urban 
life, applied to the entire length and breadth of rural life. 

The social philosophers have outlined for us our task. 
They have indicated needed reforms and suggested rem- 
edies. They may even induce government to furnish the 
material means of reform. But it is the rural teachers, 
after all, who must bear the brunt of the change. The real 
reform must begin with the hearts and minds and hands 
of the rural youth. To make them receptive to the con- 



PREFACE IX 

templated changes, to fit them to make use of the material 
means placed at their disposal, to inspire them with a 
genuine love for the soil and all that goes with it — these, 
and many similar problems, are, and must largely remain, 
the teachers' work. 

It is the author's conviction that teachers should be more 
conversant with rural school history and know more about 
the educational problems now looking toward solution. 
If they were generally familiar with the educational activ- 
ities and impulses manifesting themselves in other rural 
communities, teachers could cooperate to better advantage 
and accomplish better results. The same is true of all 
others whose interests lie in the schools. If superin- 
tendents had a stronger grasp on the many perplexing 
problems come from supervision of schools; if school 
boards realized as they should the surpassing importance 
of their duties in the administration of school affairs; 
if the general laity could but half know the dire conse- 
quences of parsimony and closefistedness in school support, 
— if all these were so, many of the stumbling blocks in 
the way of rapid improvement would be cleared away. 

This book was penned in the hope that earnest teachers 
and school officers might find in it some help in solving 
the questions set forth above. It is not a treatise on school 
methods nor yet on school management. It partakes 
more of the nature of an educational history, setting forth 
what has already been accomplished, indicating what is 



X PREFACE 

yet to be done. It points out shortcomings in prevailing 
systems and suggests, wherever possible, remedies which 
can be applied profitably. 

The author realizes that he is not the pioneer in this 
field. Others have been here before him. He has made 
free use of the experience and conclusions of all such, 
adding his own mite when and where he could. The 
book shall not have been in vain if he succeed in some 
small measure in shedding light on this greatest of twen- 
tieth-century problems. 

H. W. F. 

Atchison, Kansas, 
July, 1909. 



ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Introduction: The Problem Stated i 

Pathetic story of the rural school — All rural schools not bad ; 
all rural teachers not inefficient — Causes of these conditions — 
Disintegration of rural population — Changes in industrial life 

— The city a positive menace to country life — "The city and 
country express the equation of life" — The United States pre- 
eminently agricultural — The twentieth-century problem — The 
ideal twentieth- century school — The complete country life — 
Rural schools must be better organized and have better admin- 
istration — More money must be spent to provide and maintain 
the schools — Instruction must become professional — Super- 
vision must be more efficient — A twentieth-century school plant 
demanded — School exteriors — School interiors — Practical 
courses of study — Consolidation of schools a panacea for existing 
ills. 

CHAPTER II 

Organization and Administration 24 

General statement — School district organization — Objec- 
tions to the district unit — Great spread of the district system 

— Change from district to township system of organization — 
Township organization — Respects in which the township system 
is superior to the district system — County organization — Nec- 
essary reforms in the county system — The community system 

— The board of education; its function — Work of the board 
depends upon the size of geographical unit — Difficulty in pro- 
curing " good " board members — Board members might be 
trained — What an active board can accomplish. 



Xll ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER III 

PAGE 

Rural School Maintenance 39 

Rural school maintenance ; general statement — Colonial 
support of public schools — Creation of a permanent school fund 

— Permanent school funds inadequate — The state a logical 
taxing unit — State taxation not on the increase — County^ and 
township taxation — Conclusion drawn. 

CHAPTER IV 

Rural School Supervision 50 

General statement ; the business side — City supervision vs. 
rural supervision — Origin of school boards and school superin- 
tendents — The question of supervision unit — Township and 
district superintendents in New England — In Massachusetts — 
In Connecticut — Frank O. Jones on the Connecticut and Massa- 
chusetts systems — In other New England states — The county 
superintendency — County supervision as it often is — Proposed 
remedies — What some states are accomplishing for better 
county supervision — The superintendent must be removed from 
party politics — How elected in New Jersey and Pennsylvania 

— Ringing words from North Carolina — The Minnesota Edu- 
cational Association's plan — The Kansas plan of 1908 — Present 
conditions ; a lack of qualifications of superintendents — A sum- 
mary of what is being done for rural supervision. 

CHAPTER V 

The Rural School Teacher — his Training .... 69 
The perplexing teaching problem — " Born " teachers and 
" made " teachers — The high calling of the teacher — Academic 
training — Professional training — Rural teachers must make 
the school an expression of life on the farm — Aids to teachers 
already in rural schools — Summer schools — Teachers' institutes 

— The Nebraska Junior Normal — State Superintendent J. B. 
Aswell on institutes and summer schools — Teachers' meetings 

— Reading circles — State normal schools and rural teachers — 
The N. E. A. Normal School Report, page 29 — Rural model 
schools in state normals — Agriculture in state normals — A 



ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS Xlll 

PAGE 

summary of what the state normals are doing for agricultural 
teaching — County training schools in Wisconsin — State Super- 
intendent C. P. Cary on the Wisconsin training school — County 
normal training classes in Michigan — Training classes in New 
York high schools — Other states which maintain high school 
training classes. 

CHAPTER VI 

Salaries and Tenure of Rural Teachers 92 

General statement — Compensation of European and Ameri- 
can teachers compared — Conclusion drawn — Reasons for 
better salaries in Europe — Salaries of teachers and other work- 
ers in various parts of the country — How the rural teachers 
make ends meet — Education bill vs. drink and smoke bill — 
Low rural taxation — Superintendent O. J. Kern on rural school 
maintenance — The law of salary regulation — The threatened 
"feminization" of the schools — Teaching must become a pro- 
fession — The teacher's social recognition; what it depends on 
— Enlighten the public — Enact minimum salary laws — A long 
tenure for rural teachers. 

CHAPTER VII 

Rural School Buildings: Architecture and Sanitation . 116 
Spiritualization of rural life — The rural schoolhouse of song 
and story — State law to prescribe rules for site — Arrangement 
of floor space — Library, rest room, and cloak rooms — Basement ; 
its uses — Proper heating and ventilation — Construction of the 
ventilating stove — Correct lighting — Blackboards and chalk 
rails — New sanitary appliances — Outhouses made decent — 
The pressure tank and sanitary plumbing — Schoolhouse con- 
struction must combine utility with adornment. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Indoor Furnishing and Art 134 

The old school vs. the new — The rural school must again 
become the rallying point of country interests — Superintendent 
L. B. Evans on the importance of aesthetic environment — 



XIV ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Walls and woodwork — Furniture — Necessary equipment — 
Superintendent O. J. Kern on throwing away good coin of the 
realm — Choice of pictures ; things to be considered — Every 
picture selected should have educative value — Plaster casts — 
The School Improvement League of Maine — What can the 
individual teacher do ? — What the plucky teacher can accom- 
plish — Art programmes and basket suppers — Programmes of 
similar nature — What the county superintendent can do for art 
in rural schools. 



CHAPTER IX 

Nature Study and School Grounds 154 

Our school work too formal and bookish — Nature study 
defined — How nature study is valuable to the rural child — 
Economic — Esthetic — Social and Ethical — Religious — Edu- 
cational — Syllabus of nature study — Ideal school grounds — 
Preparing the soil — Planning and Platting — Walks and drives 
— Playgrounds — Planting — Hedges — Trees — Shrubbery — 
Vines — Flowers — Birds and bird houses — Toads and toad 
hatcheries — A campaign of education — Arbor Day an appro- 
priate time for planting — President Roosevelt's letter to the 
American school children — Books dealing with nature study 
and school grounds. 



CHAPTER X 

School Gardens 179 

Early school gardens — The German states — Austria — 
Sweden — France — Russia — Other European countries — The 
British Empire — Purposes of European school gardens — Euro- 
pean emigrant farmers in competition with native farmers — 
History of school gardens in the United States — Practical value 
of city school gardening — Rural school gardens — Two diffi- 
culties which must be met — Training teachers in elementary 
agriculture — Steps preparatory to making the garden — Bowes- 
ville, Ontario, school gardens — Experimental plots and indi- 
vidual plots — School gardens during vacation — How to arrange 
the garden — Books dealing with school gardens. 



ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS XV 



CHAPTER XI 

PAGE 

Elementary Agriculture and Industrial Clubs . . . 205 
Agriculture the dominant interest in the rural community — 
Objections to agricultural trend not insuperable — Elementary 
agriculture in European schools — France — Belgium and Hol- 
land — Denmark — Other countries — The British Empire — 
The United States — Rapid spread of movement North and 
South — Interest of the agricultural colleges in the movement 

— What may reasonably be expected of the one-room school 

— Some objections answered — What is actually accomplished in 
the one-room school — Example of Susie Miller — District 
No. 29, Pawnee county, Nebraska — Working aids; books, bul- 
letins, etc. — Origin of boys' and girls' industrial clubs — Influence 
of such organizations upon education — General plan of boys' corn 
clubs illustrated in the Hamilton county, Indiana, club — Object 

— Meetings — " Corn boys" in scoring contests — " Corn boy " vs. 
farmer — Good seed corn — Excursions to Purdue University — 
Teaching the fathers scientific farming — Statewide boys' and 
girls' associations in Nebraska — State Superintendent E. C. 
Bishop on object of the associations — Annual industrial contest 
for Minnesota boys and girls — This chapter addressed to 
teachers of one-room schools — Books dealing with elementary 
agriculture and industrial clubs. 



CHAPTER XII 

Manual Training in One-room Schools 236 

Manual training defined — Its early history — Manual train- 
ing in the United States — Growth of manual training ideas — 
Philosophy of manual training — Aims of manual training in 
rural communities — Combination of art and manual training — 
N. E. A. Committee on industrial education — The one-room 
school and manual training — The great mistake of waiting for 
consolidation — Case of District No. 4, Monroe township, 
Howard county, Indiana — Results from such informal work — 
How to begin — How to win; a case to the point — In con- 
clusion — A selected list of books, etc., dealing with manual 
training. 



XVI ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XIII 

PAGE 

The Library and Rural Communities 254 

General statement ; intimate relation of school to reading — 
The true teacher sees education in its entirety — Text-books 
mere compendiums of facts and general notions — What the 
library will do for the child — Early history of the library — 
" School libraries " — Library advantages at the disposal of the 
city child — The library and the rural child — Rural school 
libraries — What some states are accomplishing — States work- 
ing under conditional library laws — States having no library 
provisions — Library Day in West Virginia — The Winnebago 
county twentieth-century forward library movement — First 
Young People's Reading Circle — The place of the traveling 
library — Objects — To furnish good literature — To strengthen 
small libraries — Rapid spread of the traveling library — 
Progress by states, gleaned from reports of 1907 — Rural teach- 
ers should understand library economy — A summary — First 
one hundred books for the children's library. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Hygiene and Physical Education 282 

Modern conception of education emphasizes care of human 
body — Twofold emphasis on modern ^physical education — De- 
fectives and low standards of work — Boston school nurses — 
Relation of general intelligence to physical education — The 
teacher's responsibility for his pupils' physical and mental health 

— The teacher's place in the struggle against disease — How 
disease germs are transmitted — Drinking cups, pencils, books, 
etc. — Rural teachers their own medical inspectors — The four 
agencies of physical education — Function of play — Gymnastics 

— Gymnastics in every rural school — Gymnastics in European 
rural schools — Physical education and morals. 

CHAPTER XV 

Consolidation of Schools 302 

General statement — Aim of our free schools : " Equal rights 
to all " — What consolidation contemplates — Great waste in 



ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS XV11 

PAGE 

the small school — Early history of consolidation — Passing of 
the "little red schoolhouse" — Consolidation in Massachusetts 

— Elsewhere in New England — The progressive Middle West 

— The South — The West — Partial consolidation — Complete 
consolidation — The Wea Consolidated School — Village type of 
consolidation — Burns Consolidated School — The purely rural 
type — John Swaney Consolidated School — High school work 
in the John Swaney School — Consolidation : advantages and 
objections — A closing word — A selected reference list of books, 
etc., on consolidation. 

Appendix 335 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

Beach Glen School, Clay County, Kansas 20 > 

A One-room Schoolhouse of the Modern Type 20 • 

A Well-kept Rural School in Illinois 34 

Schoolhouse built in Fillmore County, Minnesota, in 1858 . . 34 

Schoolhouse in Clark County, Ohio ....... 34 

Old Schoolhouse at Holden, Logan County, West Virginia . . 34 
Schoolhouse in Northeastern Ohio ....... 34 

A Dilapidated Schoolhouse in Eastern Kansas .... -34 

Model Rural School on the Campus of the Missouri State Normal 

School, Kirksville 51 

Interior of Country Training School, Western Illinois State Normal 

School, at Macomb ......... 79 

Mode of Conveying Normal School Students to the above Training 

School 79 

Manual Training at the Dunn County School of Agriculture and 

Domestic Economy, Menomonie, Wisconsin . . . Ill u 
Sewing at the Dunn County School of Agriculture and Domestic 

Economy . . . . . . . . . . .111 

Exterior of Rural Schoolroom, showing Fresh Air Intake of Stove . 125 
Interior of Rural Schoolroom, illustrating the " Smith System " of 

Heating and Ventilation . . . . . . . .125 

Model Country Schoolroom shown at a Recent Illinois State Fair . 143 

School District 25, Turner County, South Dakota .... 143 

Children at Work in the Garden of the Sheridan School, Denver . 163 
Irrigated Rural School Garden at Gilpin, Colorado . . . .163 

This Remarkable Picture illustrates School Garden Work at the 

Macdonald Consolidated School, Guelph, Canada . . 193 

The Same Garden at Harvest Time, in September . . . . 193 

xix 



XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

An Average Corn Exhibit at the Annual Contest of the Hamilton 

County, Indiana, Boys' Corn Club ...... 224 

Sectional View of Pawnee County, Nebraska, Corn Growing and 

Cooking Contest, 1908 ........ 224 

Girls at Work in Domestic Economy Rooms, Macdonald Consoli- 
dated School, Guelph, Canada . 241 

Boys in Manual Training Department, Macdonald Consolidated 

School, Guelph, Canada , 24.1 

Manual Training in a Small Rural School, Edgar County, Illinois . 241^ 

One of the Dover Township Schools, Union County, Ohio . . 275 v- 

Headquarters at Topeka, from which many hundred traveling libra- 
ries are annually sent to every County in Kansas . . . 275 ' 

Exhibit made by the Illinois State Board of Health, at the Illinois 

State Fair, 1909 288 

Illustration showing a large mass of adenoids growing in the naso- 
pharyngeal cavity of the throat 291 

Pneumonia Germs from a Public School Drinking Cup . . . 291 

Microphotograph of Decaying Human Cells on a Drinking Cup . 291 

Gymnastics at the Dunn County School of Agriculture and Domestic 

Economy, Menomonie, Wisconsin ...... 297 

Consolidated School at North Madison, Madison Township, Lake 

County, Ohio 324 

The John Swaney School, District 532, McNabb, Illinois . . . 324 



TWENTIETH-CENTURY NEEDS OF 
AMERICAN COUNTRY LIFE 

As discovered by the Country Life Commission and 
summarized by President Roosevelt in a special message 
to Congress in 1909 : — 

" First, effective cooperation among farmers, to put 
them on a level with the organized interests with which 
they do business. 

" Second, a new kind of schools in the country, which 
shall teach the children as much outdoors as indoors 
and perhaps more, so that they will prepare for country 
life, and not, as at present, mainly for life in town. 

" Third, better means of communication, including 
good roads and a parcels post, which the country people 
are everywhere, and rightly, unanimous in demanding. 

" To these may well be added better sanitation ; for 
easily preventable diseases hold several million country 
people in the slavery of continuous ill health." 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

CHAPTER I 
Introduction: The Problem Stated 

It is conceded by students of education generally that 
the great desideratum of the times is a proper solution of 
the rural school problem. Secondary and higher education 
within our country have attained a satisfactory degree of 
excellence and efficiency. Modern unification and stand- 
ardization have wrought marvelous things for the internal 
development of such institutions. Public liberality and 
private philanthropy have succeeded in making the schools 
an expression of the great material prosperity, and forward 
and upward movement so peculiar to our present-day Amer- 
ican civilization. The universities, denominational col- 
leges, and professional schools are definitely established and 
have acquired an educational momentum sufficient for all 
purposes. Graded schools, in city and village alike, have 
reached a stage of development or evolution so satisfac- 
tory that their future is practically assured. 

Pathetic Story of the Rural School. — While the public 
attention has been centered on work and plans for the im- 



2 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

provement of city schools, a great factor for or against the 
public weal has been sadly neglected. This is the rural 
school. All well-informed persons agree that conditions 
in the rural schools are not to-day what they should be for 
the proper training of the twelve million boys and girls 
growing up in rural communities. One half of our entire 
school population attend the rural schools, which are still 
in the formative stage. And at least 95 per cent of 
these children never get beyond the district school. The 
country youth is entitled to just as thorough a prepa- 
ration for thoughtful and intelligent membership in the 
body politic as is the city youth. The state, if it is wise, 
will not discriminate in favor of the one as against the other; 
but it will adjust its bounties in a manner equitable to the 
needs of both. 

Heretofore, the rural schools have received very little 
attention from organized educational authority. What- 
ever has been accomplished may be credited to local 
initiative; whatever has been neglected may be traced to 
general apathy and indifference. As a result, in some sec- 
tions of our broad land, there has long existed a state of 
affairs bordering dangerously close on educational coma. 
It is not putting facts in too strong a light to say that vast 
numbers of our rural boys and girls are annually turned 
out by the schools systematically dwarfed through more or 
less purposeless courses of study, leaving them poorly 
prepared for the life struggle. 



introduction: the problem stated 3 

All Rural Schools not Bad ; all Rural Teachers not In- 
efficient. — Of course, all district schools are not bad and 
all rural teachers are not inefficient. We have, indeed, 
many excellent schools in farming communities. Many 
capable, painstaking teachers are spending their lives 
there, giving the best there is in them for the children of 
the farm. Yet the fact remains that a majority of rural 
schools are badly equipped for school purposes, and a ma- 
jority of teachers are lacking in both academic and pro- 
fessional training. It is conceded, too, that a great many 
men of eminence, scholars, statesmen, and professional 
men got their early training, and in many instances all 
their training, in the old-fashioned district school. But 
this can hardly be taken as proof of the general efficiency 
of such schools. Many things conspire to prove that these 
men had the native ability and talent to succeed not so 
much on account of the district schools as in spite of them. 

Cause of these Conditions. — These unsatisfactory edu- 
cational conditions must not be charged as a reflection 
on the character or public spirit of our farm population, 
as they are largely the result of unavoidable circumstances. 
The early settlers on the Atlantic seaboard had their battle 
with the wilderness. Then the period of intense struggle 
before and after the Revolutionary War kept the impov- 
erished people in no condition to solve effectively the edu- 
cational problem staring them in the face. Ever since the 
first hardy pioneers crossed the Alleghenies on their west- 



4 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

ward march, like conditions have prevailed. On prairie 
and plain every energy has been centered on redeeming the 
soil to the cause of civilization. Under such stress of 
economic and social effort the rural school has been sorely 
neglected. But now, with the opening of the new century, 
the great westward migration is nearing the end, and we 
are to all practical purposes a settled people. Under such 
circumstances we might soon, with reason, look for a fixity 
of conditions in rural communities, such as is found in 
urban centers. But, unfortunately, other factors of far- 
reaching consequences upset our expectations, the chief 
being, perhaps, the startling disintegration of rural popu- 
lation and influx to the larger cities. 

Disintegration of Rural Population. — Man is by nature 
gregarious. He only follows natural instincts when he 
seeks the large centers of population where he can enjoy 
a keener social existence. In primitive times agricultural 
tribes reared walled towns for defense against predatory 
tribes. These became the cradles of industrial, commer- 
cial, and political life. The city and city state have from 
the beginning played an important role in history, though 
it was not before the opening of the last century that 
the growth of urban life at the expense of rural com- 
munities became in any way marked. 

For a half century the cityward movement has been on 
the rapid increase. This is to-day a universal condition. 
European countries are all experiencing an unexampled 



introduction: the problem stated 5 

growth of cities. In the United States the problem is 
even more serious. The affixed table illustrates graphic- 
ally the startling urban tendencies in our country: — 



Year 


Total 


Urban Population 


Number of 


Per cent of 


Population 


of Cities of 8000 


Places 


Urban Total 


1790 


3,929,214 


T 3 I >472 


6 


3-4 


1850 


23,191,876 


2,897,586 


85 


12.5 


1870 


38,558,371 


8,071,875 


226 


20.9 


1880 


50,155,783 


i^,3^,5°7 


286 


22.6 


1890 


62,622,250 


18,272,503 


447 


29.2 


1900 


75,468,039 


24,992,199 


545 


33-1 



A glance at these figures shows that the urban population 
has increased in a little over a century from 3.4 per cent to 
33.1 per cent. Unofficial figures for 1908 indicate a further 
increase to about 38 per cent. The government reports 
take into consideration only cities with a population of 
8000 and upward. If all incorporated cities were counted, 
the total per cent of urban growth would be materially 
increased. 

Changes in Industrial Life. — Such phenomenal growth 
of cities has been coincident everywhere with growth 
in manufacturing industries. These latter have produced 
modern, labor-saving machinery for the farm, and have 
consequently reduced the demand for farm hands. Fac- 
tory-made wares and cheap transportation have sounded 
the death-knell of many local industries which in the 
olden time flourished at every cross-road. Rural crafts- 



6 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

men were formerly in great demand in making and re- 
pairing farm instruments, in cabinet making, in fact, in 
upbuilding the entire farm place. Their occupation is 
now gone, and they have flocked to the cities. Worst 
of all, untold numbers of farm youth, without whom the 
rural communities will languish, are drawn thither by the 
glamour of city life and its many flattering opportunities 
for advancement. 

Finally, in direct ratio as the rural population decreases 
the size of farms increases. The tendency is in the di- 
rection of increasingly extensive machine farming rather 
than toward the intensive small farming which many have 
long hoped to see realized, and which must be realized 
before the rural problem is finally settled. Figures show 
that for the twenty years from 1880 to 1900 the average 
size of farms for the whole country increased almost 
10 per cent. 

The City a Positive Menace to Country Life. — Just 
how far this depletion of the rural population shall go, no 
one can say. But this is certain, the present tendency is 
toward yet larger farming units, and every indication points 
toward a still further decrease in population. City life 
is terribly devitalizing. In its artificial, hot-house atmos- 
phere the human organism literally starves and early 
deteriorates. Into this life, then, our best country boys 
and girls are thrown annually by hundreds of thousands 
— their manifest destiny to reenforce the ebbing vitality 



introduction: the problem stated 7 

of city life. The infusion of the sturdy country stock into 
the city assures a continuation of city prosperity and 
progress. But at what an awful cost! American Medi- 
cine, an excellent authority in this field, speaks editorially 
thus: " City life is very deadly to the young, a fact known 
to anthropologists for a long time, and we are now in a 
fair way to explain the phenomenon. For hundreds of 
years country families have flocked to the towns, to die 
out in a few generations, so that cities are said to be the 
consumers of rural populations. A man raised in the coun- 
try seems to stand the unknown strain, but his children 
sometimes perish long before he does. Every physician 
knows of these disappearing families where the country- 
bred parents survive all their city-bred children." 

" The City and Country express the Equation of Life." 
— After such forceful statements it is in place to empha- 
size here that " the city and country express the equation 
of life, a weakness in one member means the ruin of both. 
Each must supplement, but not destroy, the other, and both 
must be preserved." Whatever may be said about the 
devitalizing effects of city life upon the individual from 
the farm, this truth remains, that the welfare of the one 
is closely bound up with that of the other. The farm 
produces the raw material and demands the manufactured 
product in return; the city supplies a market for the farm 
output and expects a market for its own finished product. 
We have here the ancient fable of the Body and the Members 



8 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

retold. As well might we expect the " body " to remain 
well nourished and healthy after the " members " had 
struck work and refused to supply the stomach with food, 
as to expect the body politic to thrive and wax strong while 
its members, the city and country, failed to work in har- 
mony. There is every reason to believe that the city- 
ward tide will soon abate. A state of equipoise between 
city life and rural life must be reached in a not distant 
future. Several factors are quietly at work to relieve the 
situation. The city will never resound with a cry of " back 
to the country," that is certain; those who are in the city 
now will remain there. But, as we shall see below, both 
nature and man are doing what they can to organize rural 
life as a perfect member in our equation of national 
life. 

The United States preeminently Agricultural. — Presi- 
dent Roosevelt believes that the most pressing question 
of a material nature now before the American people is 
the conservation of our natural resources. We have cer- 
tainly been prodigal of the vast stores of natural wealth 
placed at our disposal. We have been wasteful. The 
proud forests exist no more; gas and oil fields are becom- 
ing drained; coal and other mineral deposits are generally 
exploited. We have misused the sacred right of eminent 
domain, and public utilities have gone to the most per- 
sistent and crafty jobber. Now we stand face to face with 
changing conditions. The natural competencies which 



introduction: the problem stated 9 

the forefathers got for the taking, the sons of the later day 
must earn through the sweat of their brow. The future 
will not be chary; but she will expect labor, and intelligent 
labor at that, by all who would succeed. Profits are sure 
to become smaller, and competition keener. Gradually, 
it would seem, the demands for industrial labor will de- 
cline. Then the cityward migration will lessen and per- 
haps cease altogether. Then the agriculturist will come 
to his own. 

The United States is preeminently an agricultural na- 
tion. While the choicest parts of the public domain have 
long been settled, and even semi-arid Indian reservations 
are going fast, there is room here for hundreds of millions 
yet unborn. Dry farming and irrigation will increase 
manifold the tillable areas in the West. Systematic drain- 
age will do as much for the South. Twentieth-century 
agriculture must become scientific and intensive — smaller 
farming units and better farming, the aim. 

The Rural School Problem not wholly Educational. — 
The rural school problem in our country is not wholly an 
educational problem in the general meaning of that term. 
It has to deal with a great many subjects besides ordinary 
schoolroom practice, school administration, and supervi- 
sion. Issues of an economic and sociological nature arise, 
which seek solution in part in the school, in part from 
without. The problem is thus more than educational. 
The new movement in the schools must not be looked 



IO THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

upon as an end in itself, but as a means to the end of organ- 
izing rural life. Here the rural teacher must work hand 
in hand with the social philosopher. In many ways their 
fields of activity coincide and their interests blend. One 
can hardly conceive of improving the intellectual and ethi- 
cal without improving the material and social, and vice 
versa. Indeed, their aim is the same — the improvement 
of all rural conditions and activities, whether they be in- 
tellectual or social, material or ethical. The main dif- 
ference lies in the point of attack and methods of procedure. 
The teacher's work is from within, with the child in school ; 
the social philosopher proceeds from without and deals 
mainly with the parent. The former begins at the foun- 
tain source — the child mind and child heart — and pre- 
pares the children for the new rural life; but without this 
impulse from without, furnished by the reformers in high 
places, the work of winning over the parents, of convincing 
them of the need of change, would be both difficult and 
slow. 

President Roosevelt's Commission on Rural Life. — 
President Roosevelt's commission on rural life has en- 
deavored to arrive at an exact understanding of American 
rural life and public opinion in regard to this life. Once 
we know conditions as they really exist, it will be less 
difficult to indicate remedies than now. The field of 
investigation, as outlined by the commission, is very com- 
prehensive and reaches into every corner of rural endeavor, 



introduction: the PROBLEM STATED II 

touching the strictly educational issues with the rest. 
The subjects considered are these: — 

Home-making. — The choice and preparation of food; wells and 
water and waste; house construction; conveniences and appliances ; 
help. 

Education. — Rural schools; agricultural and household sub- 
jects; preparation of teachers for country life; farmers' institutes; 
colleges; extension work. 

Buying and Selling. — Cooperation in dairying, in poultry, in rais- 
ing fruit, marketing, etc.; middlemen, buying associations. 

Communication. — Roads; trolley lines ; telephones; postal service. 

Organizations. — Farmers' clubs; granges; experiment clubs; 
farmers' unions, etc.; women's organizations. 

Land. — Tenancy; form of rental. 

Farm Labor. — Supply; housing; wages; board. 

Finance. — Savings banks; rural credit societies; insurance. 

Public Health. — Regulation; water supplies; the prevention of 
disease. 

Social Life. — Public gatherings; festival days; literary clubs; 
reading clubs; church, schoolhouse, and other social centers. 

The commission held meetings in thirty different states 
and received thousands upon thousands of answers to 
its formal questions about conditions in rural communities. 
Besides this it gathered a vast amount of information by 
letters and special reports. All this was embodied in its 
report to the president. 

Report of the Commission on Country Life ; the Three 
Great Needs. — The investigation reveals, according to 
Commissioner Walter H. Page, " that the level of well- 
being in the country in general is higher than it ever was 



12 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

before; that our country population is increasing its wealth 
and the productiveness of its life — in fact, that the condi- 
tion of our rural population is better than any equally 
large rural population could ever show before; and this is 
true." But it reveals many serious problems also which 
must be worked out before modern rural life can become 
truly efficient. The three which people everywhere em- 
phasized and clamored for are set forth by President 
Roosevelt in his special message to Congress, quoted 
elsewhere in these pages. Stated in general terms they 
are : (i) effective cooperation, (2) a new kind of schools, 
and (3) a better means of communication. To these is 
added (4) better sanitation. 

Farmers feel keenly the need of cooperation in buying 
and selling, of eliminating certain non-essential middlemen, 
of forming their own local commercial exchanges — in a 
word, they feel the need of as thorough an organization as 
that which now belongs to the city interests with which 
they do business. 

People in rural communities everywhere emphasize 
the necessity of making the schools an exponent of rural 
life, and not, as at present, chiefly for city life. " Criti- 
cism of the schools as they now exist," says Mr. Page, " was 
almost universal by the people, because their influence is 
rather to train youth away from the soil than to train them 
how to make the soil more productive and life on it more 
satisfactory. There is, in fact, a universal unrest in edu- 



introduction: the problem stated 13 

cational subjects, an unrest so profound and general as 
to point to the necessity of fundamental changes." 

The demand for good roads comes from almost every 
community in every section of the country. This means of 
better communication carries with it a desire for the exten- 
sion of rural free delivery and the introduction of a parcels 
post. 

Finally, the commission finds that rural communities 
show a marked ignorance on the subject of health and 
sanitation. Altogether too little attention is paid to this 
subject. Typhoid fever and similar diseases now hold in 
continual thraldom numberless rural people — diseases, 
all of them, which under effective organization might 
easily be prevented. 

Even if not holding out the promise of any great imme- 
diate results, the commission has begun a remarkable work. 
For to have promulgated the successful experience of cer- 
tain sections to the country at large is sure to bear impor- 
tant fruit. In this way modern organization will spread 
throughout the great agricultural communities. Means 
will be found to make home and social life there satis- 
factory; greater returns will come from the soil than under 
present conditions; then at length a love for the God-given 
acres must follow. 

Now, to limit ourselves to the school side of the 
problem: — 

The Twentieth -century Problem. — The great task of 



14 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

twentieth-century education is, then, to instill in the 
country boys and country girls this very love for the coun- 
try and all that pertains to country life; to fit them, through 
thoroughly practical courses of study, to receive and pre- 
serve their wonderful heritage. " The tremendous ad- 
vantage of a rational course of work in country schools," 
says Francis W. Parker, " is that it would make a strong, 
binding union of the home and the school, the farm meth- 
ods and the school methods. It would bring the farm 
into the school, and project the school into the farm. 
It would give parent and teacher one motive, in the carry- 
ing out of which both could heartily join. The parent 
would appreciate and judge fairly the work of the school, 
the teacher would honor, dignify, and elevate the work 
of the farm." 

The Ideal Twentieth -century School. — Fortunately, our 
rural schools are making distinct progress in the direction 
of rational courses and the teaching of essentials. But 
the work of reform is merely begun. The old-fashioned, 
blind teaching is, alas! very prevalent. The subject- 
matter taught is still borrowed from the city curriculum. 
It is foreign to the country child's world — the farm. 
In the country the soil must ever remain the real factor. 
Nature study in its broadest meaning together with manual 
training and instruction in the various crafts which shall 
make the farm child satisfied with his lot in life are the 
real essentials. The school of to-morrow will teach the 



introduction: the problem stated 15 

farm child how to live, and how to do things. The teacher 
of to-morrow must be able to take the child in its own 
little world, and lead it along the pathway of life, directing 
its native adaptabilities, sentiments, and powers; he must 
develop in the child breast a sympathy with its environ- 
ment, and in the child's mind an understanding of nature 
and nature's intent. The twentieth-century teacher must 
teach the child to love nature for nature's own sake — 
and not to judge it by a mere commercial or money stand- 
ard. The teacher must lead the child to see in the old 
farmstead with its God-given acres the most precious 
heritage that can come to mortal man. He must teach 
the child that the farm is his treasure, then there will his 
heart be also. 

The Complete Country Life. — Country life must cease 
to be a mere complement of city life; it must be made 
complete in itself. It is not enough for the new awakening 
to conserve that which is best in the country life as we now 
have it. No! let it carry to the country all that is best 
and most ennobling in present-day city life. Remove 
the causes for the cityward exodus by making the country 
life attractive. Provide against its present social starva- 
tion. Introduce music and art into the schools, and 
thence into the farm homes. Encourage school libraries 
and home reading, as well as lecture courses of a practical 
sort. In short, let everything that is really worth the while 
in our best city systems be provided for the rural school. 



1 6 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Requirements of the Twentieth Century. — It has al- 
ready been intimated that our country schools are making 
distinct progress in the direction of rational courses and 
the teaching of essentials. But this must not be con- 
strued to mean that conditions, as they now exist, are ideal 
or even satisfactory. Indeed, it is true, as shown in a later 
chapter, that some sections of the country are making 
remarkable progress in the direction of needed reform 
and are to be congratulated upon what has already been 
accomplished; though it is just as true that other sections 
have been sadly indifferent to their opportunities and have 
done but little to remedy existing school evils. Even 
where the real conditions approach the nearest to ideal 
there is much still to be done. So it would be folly to 
claim that conditions are, or ever have been, satisfactory. 
But the movement for better rural schools, and more prac- 
tical schools, is upon us, north, south, east, and west; 
nor will it subside before the reform is complete. To this 
end the times demand: (i) more thorough school organ- 
ization and administration; (2) greatly increased school 
support; (3) professional supervision and instruction; 
(4) modern school plant; (5) practical course of study; 
(6) centralization and consolidation of schools. 

Rural Schools must be better organized and have better 
Administration. — The first phase of the subject to demand 
attention is school organization and administration. The 
size of the unit of organization plays an important r6le in 




Beach Glen School, Clay County, Kansas. A typical rural school, better 
kept than the average. 




A one-room schoolhouse of the modern type. This building, which is fitted 
with every up-to-date appliance, should soon supplant the old box-car type. 



introduction: the problem stated 17 

school affairs. The success or failure of school adminis- 
tration and supervision as well as of school support de- 
pends very largely upon it. Paradoxical as it may seem, 
wherever the unit of organization is very small the schools 
suffer, and where it is very large the same holds true. 
It appears therefore that the extremes must be avoided. 
Upon the whole, there is more danger from units too small 
than too large. The small local district unit which has 
long been in use in Eastern states, and which later was 
adopted in the Middle West and the West has proved gen- 
erally unsatisfactory for purposes of organization. Many 
of the evils from which rural schools suffer are traceable 
to the small district. As we shall see in a later chapter, 
local partisanship and jealousy, and often close-fistedness 
and indifference in school affairs, make the district an 
inadequate basis for administering school affairs. The 
local school board is too often hampered in its work by 
obligations to friends and neighbors who elect them and 
retain them in office. Such a unit cannot possibly afford 
to pay for professional supervision. But, most important 
of all, the last word in tax matters should never be left 
with so small a unit, since two or three influential men are 
generally able to dictate the policy of the district, and make 
this narrow or broad in proportion as they themselves 
are narrow-minded or broad-minded. The county unit 
which prevails in the South has some bad features and 
many good ones. Upon the whole, the township unit is, 



1 8 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

at any rate for the East and Middle West, the most prac- 
tical and satisfactory basis of organization, and should 
be encouraged by all who are interested in the best business 
basis in rural education. 

More Money must be spent to provide and maintain 
Schools. — The chief essential in school affairs is unques- 
tionably ample funds with which to provide and maintain 
the schools. Right now we are spending $33.01 on the 
city child's education for every $13.17 on the rural child's. 
This is for school maintenance alone and has nothing to 
do with permanent school investment. In this field the 
cities, with their much smaller total valuation, invest 
vastly larger sums of money in school buildings and equip- 
ment than rural communities. This is not giving the 
farm boys and girls a fair chance. The farmers must be- 
come awake to their great responsibility in these matters. 
They must spend much more money for professional 
teaching, for modern buildings, for equipment, for books, 
tools, etc. Otherwise, rural schools can never reach the 
standards demanded by the changing twentieth-century 
life. Let every advocate of better rural conditions do what 
he can to convince farmers that increased taxation for 
school support will be a gilt-edge investment. 

Instruction must become Professional. — Another ex- 
tremely important factor in rural school success or failure 
is the teacher himself. This naturally involves: (1) better 
preparation, (2) longer tenure of office, and (3) better sala- 



introduction: the problem stated 19 

ries. In many instances our teachers' qualifications are al- 
together too meager. Too many teachers do not grasp the 
real significance of the teaching problem. Some are too 
poorly grounded in the fundamentals, or they lack skill 
to present the subject-matter. Most unfortunate of all 
is it that many young men and women who dabble in teach- 
ing do not expect or intend to become professional teachers 
at all; to them teaching is only a makeshift, a stepping 
stone to something better. Under such conditions teach- 
ing is not and never can hope to be a profession. 

The great need is for professionally trained rural school- 
teachers — teachers trained to grapple with problems as 
they now exist. The teachers who are first to realize this 
fact will be the first to reap the reward. This will come in 
the shape of materially increased salaries — salaries com- 
mensurate with the time and money expended in prepara- 
tion for the work — and in tenures of office limited only by 
the good behavior clause or by the teachers' personal choice. 

Supervision must be more Efficient. — A more satis- 
factory system of supervision in the rural schools is insep- 
arably linked with this better instruction. As here under- 
stood, we do not mean this function as exerted by the 
teacher in the class room, but as belonging to such general 
overseers of schools as township, district, and county 
superintendents. In the East the geographical unit gen- 
erally used in school supervision is the town (township). 
Very often the township has proved too small for the main- 



20 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

tenance of expert supervisors. To remedy this, laws have 
been enacted under which two or more townships may 
join and organize township districts, thus enabling them to 
give rural supervision equal to the best offered in the city 
systems. Such consolidation for greater efficiency should 
be encouraged. It might be applied, with great profit, 
to many states in the Middle West now under township 
organization for governmental purposes. In sections 
where the county unit of supervision prevails difficulties 
are more numerous and harder to surmount. The aver- 
age county superintendent is an official whose time is given 
to drawing warrants, to issuing circular letters, compiling 
statistics, and performing other clerical duties belonging 
to his office. Incidentally he " calls " upon his teachers 
once or twice a year, though such visits can scarcely be 
dignified as supervision. Several remedies are proposed, 
either of which will be sure to make the superintendent's 
work more effective. 

A Twentieth -century School Plant Demanded. — The 
" little red schoolhouse " of Eastern localities, so familiar 
through song and story, and the unsightly box-car struc- 
tures dignified in the West by the name of schoolhouse, 
will soon live in memory alone. They are beginning to 
give way to modern, sanitary buildings, in every way 
adapted to twentieth-century teaching. But the reform 
in school architecture will hardly be complete before it 
becomes incumbent on local boards, by law, to use only 



introduction: the problem STATED 21 

such plans as are approved by the state superintendent of 
public instruction and the secretary of the state board of 
health, or some other specified committee competent to 
adjudge these matters. 

School Exteriors. — All the necessary apparatus for 
doing good work must be supplied. The grounds must 
be made an appropriate setting for the dignified " temple 
of learning." Let the grounds be made as attractive as 
the professional teacher's art can possibly make them. 
Let curving walks and rustic seats, grass and shrubbery, 
vines and flowers, shed over structure and grounds an 
atmosphere of homelikeness. Let the school garden at 
the rear of the grounds be a place where the theoretical 
and the practical in school work shall meet. All in all, 
let grounds and building be the center of attraction to the 
whole countryside. 

School Interiors. — The school interior must be in har- 
mony with the general exterior. An aesthetic atmosphere 
should sit lightly upon the room. Tinted or papered walls, 
appropriate color effects, touches of the artistic here and 
there, neatly framed copies of the masters, plaster casts, 
shelves full of choice books, plants, and perhaps an 
aquarium, — all these should shed a glow of comfort and 
homelikeness over the room or give it a genuine scholastic 
stamp. With such a school plant rural children will 
find the irksome in school life disappear, and there will be 
less dragging of the heavy feet to school. 



22 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Course of Study must be Practical. — Hitherto, the 
course of study pursued in the country has come from the 
outside — from the city. It has trained the child away 
from the farm and not towards it. The new methods must 
begin right in the child's own world and develop right out 
of his own experience. The subject-matter taught must be 
an expression of the needs of the country community and 
must render country life more significant. Experience 
teaching is what is needed. Industrial work and nature 
study will take their place as coordinate with the study of 
books. Training in handwork, and a study of plants and 
soils and animal life will come to be of almost incalculable 
value to country life. The policy shall be not so much to 
give systematic instruction in practical agriculture, as to 
lead up to it by awakening in the child's breast a love for 
the wonders in nature. Then it may be expected that the 
state agricultural school will continue the work here begun, 
and in time return the young man to the farm — an enthu- 
siastic, scientific farmer. 

Consolidation of Schools a Panacea for Existing Ills. — 
Consolidation is offered as a remedy for the ills existing 
in districts most affected by disintegration of population. 
The ideal plan contemplates the discontinuance of weak 
schools and the consolidation of a number of districts 
sufficiently large to maintain a graded school. Where 
conditions are satisfactory this means the establishment of 
graded schools in every respect equal to village and city 



introduction: the problem stated 23 

schools, right in the heart of rural communities. In ad- 
dition to what the urban child gets, consolidation offers 
opportunities for study under the benign influence of field 
and grove in the very bosom of mother nature. With these 
schools at his own doors, the farm child need no longer 
seek urban centers in quest of learning. 

We shall now take up in detail the various phases of our 
subject. But, first, let us consider the main currents of 
educational history in our country, at least so far as they 
pertain to the rural schools. 



CHAPTER II 

Organization and Administration 

General Statement. — The history of rural school organ- 
ization and administration in our country is full of interest 
to students of education. It tells the story of " system 
sprung from chaos," of order and progress come out of 
confusion and stagnation. The first schools knew no 
higher authority than the will of the community which 
maintained them. Any policy of an administrative or 
supervisory nature was necessarily shaped by local opinion 
and governed by local needs. This meant, in practice, 
as many standards of school management as there were 
schools; or, more properly speaking, it meant no standards 
at all. " If the people as a whole are to be educated," 
says Professor Dexter, " definite standards of excellence 
must be demanded of all schools, and such can only be 
maintained through the appointment of responsible officials 
vested with authority to make demands, and competent to 
direct the schools in the process of making them." 

All the several states have sought such uniform stand- 
ards through - statute enactment, and all have realized them 
to a more or less satisfactory extent. Conditions in many 

24 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 25 

states are still far from ideal. It has been in great measure 
a matter of experimentation, of groping about in the un- 
known, in our efforts to provide the best system for the 
different sections of the country. The various units of 
organization with which we are concerned in the rural 
schools are the following: (i) school district organization, 
(2) township organization, (3) county organization, (4) 
community system. 

School District Organization. — The school district 
is the smallest and most democratic of these units of con- 
trol. It developed in New England after the scattering 
of the population, due to the cessation of early Indian 
hostilities. New communities sprang up on the edge of 
the wilderness, too distant from the parental centers of 
population to make use of the old town schools. Conse- 
quently, they organized their own educational unit and 
established their own schools. All who lived within easy 
reach of the centrally located school and were banded 
together for its support constituted the school district. 
This organization was at first wholly voluntary; it ante- 
dated all legal enactments pertaining to schools, and came 
about solely because it was the only possible thing to do 
under the circumstances. It answered the needs of our 
colonial schools well enough, and had the district been 
founded for the purpose of school supply merely, or to 
regulate attendance, there would certainly have been no 
objection to its formation. Unfortunately, the organizers, 



26 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

jealous of what they deemed their inherent rights, made it 
also the center of school support — i.e. the unit of taxa- 
tion. In Massachusetts the Act of 1647 had declared the 
town the basis of school organization; but the district 
plan worked so well that it received full legal sanction in 
1789. From this time until well into our own day it has 
been a controlling power in school matters in the state. 

Objections to the District Unit. — The Massachusetts 
Act of 1789 was, to quote Horace Mann, " the most un- 
fortunate law on the subject of common schools ever 
enacted in the state." The great educator was quick to 
discern what we have long experienced; namely, that the 
school district is too small to be intrusted with final legis- 
lation in matters of importance. Especially is this true 
where the taxing power is concerned — a power which 
was vested in the district by the Massachusetts Act of 
1801. Local jealousy, parsimony, and individual indif- 
ference contribute much to make the district unsatisfactory 
in actual practice. " In many cases," says Professor 
Dexter, " the sentiment among the limited number of 
voters within a single district is the opposite of generous 
toward the schools or the district too poor to do much; 
and although the acts of 1789 and 1801, and similar laws, 
passed in the neighboring states a little later, gave to New 
England the ' little red schoolhouse ' in great numbers, 
they were frequently not very red for want of paint, nor 
was the teaching within their walls of a very high order. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 27 

Yet it cannot be denied that much good came from 
them." 

Great Spread of the District System. — The district 
system spread at an early date to every part of New Eng- 
land, and was later adopted by nearly all the states west- 
ward, where it sprang up either as a matter of pure imi- 
tation or because conditions prevailed similar to those 
which had earlier called forth the system in Massachu- 
setts. Let this be as it may, if we except the Southern 
states where county organization is in vogue, the district 
soon established itself as the unit of school organization 
and administration throughout the country, and as such 
continues in a great majority of the states to-day. 

Change from District to Township System of Organiza- 
tion. — Massachusetts, which was the first to legalize the 
district unit, was likewise the first to abolish it. This 
happened in 1882. New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, 
New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania very soon 
followed suit and likewise changed to the township system. 
More than twenty other states have laws permitting town- 
ship organization for school purposes, although they have 
as yet not exercised this permission to any marked extent. 
The change to the township in the old Atlantic states is 
easy to explain. The rapid disintegration of the popula- 
tion in many rural communities and the great influx to 
the cities left many of the small school districts impover- 
ished and all but bereft of population. This left no alter- 



28 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

native except to organize into larger units — units strong 
enough to provide good schools and a more equable system 
of maintenance. These demands the township system 
has satisfied. The larger unit is getting a strong hold on 
the Middle West also, generally, for the same reasons that 
apply eastward. The newer Western states, which do 
not yet and perhaps never may feel the effects of the city- 
ward migration, will be slower to make the change. 

Township Organization. — The township organization 
is less democratic than the district organization, but it 
" has the advantage of forcing the wealthier portions of 
the township to contribute to the support of the schools 
in the poorer communities, thus bringing about a more 
uniform standard of excellence." 

Care should be taken here not to confuse township or- 
ganization for school purposes and township system of 
local government. The latter pertains to local affairs 
generally, the former to school matters only. Township 
organization for school purposes is in fact only a merger 
of districts lying usually within the political township, 
and administered by a central board, elected at the annual 
town meeting. Such boards are called, variously, school 
committees, as in Massachusetts ; boards of education, as 
in Ohio; and boards of directors, as in Iowa. This sys- 
tem naturally enough tends to give rise to consolidation 
of schools and township high schools, although several 
states in which it has reached a normal development 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 20. 

utilize the township system chiefly for the better admin- 
istration of the several school districts within the town- 
ship. Thus in Iowa, for example, the congressional 
township is divided into a number of subdistricts, each 
with its own school plant and subdirector. These sub- 
directors constitute the township board and administer 
the school affairs for the entire township. They fix the 
rate of taxation, elect teachers and fix their salaries, de- 
cide on the length of the school year, and perform many 
kindred duties of an administrative nature. 

Respects in which the Township System is Superior 
to the District System. — The many advantages of the 
township system over the district system are so admirably 
set forth in the Report of the Subcommittee on School 
Maintenance in the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools 
(Proceedings N.E.A. 1897) ^ iat I venture to quote them 
in detail : — 

1. If the schools of a township are under a single board elected 
from the township at large, schoolhouses will far more likely be built 
where they are needed than under the other system. 

2. Equality of school provision will be much more fully secured 
in respect to schoolhouses and grounds, length of school terms, and 
the ability and character of teachers. 

3. The tendency will not be to multiply schools unduly, but to 
restrict their number, bringing together more scholars, and thus 
making better classification, grading, and teaching possible, and 
increasing the interest and enthusiasm of the pupils. 

4. Better supervision can be secured. The county superintend- 
ent can deal more effectively and easily with one board in a town- 



30 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

ship than with six, ten, or twelve; while township and township-union 
supervision will be greatly promoted. 

5. Simplicity and economy of administration will be facilitated, 
and the sense of official responsibility be enhanced. 

6. The tendency will be to employ teachers for longer terms, and 
thereby to restrict, in a considerable degree, the evils that flow from 
frequent changes. 

7. The strifes and contentions between districts that are now not 
infrequent will be prevented. 

8. Transfers of pupils from school to school will be made more 
easy. 

9. The reason last to be mentioned is perhaps the strongest of 
all. The relations of the township-unit system to school consolida- 
tion have already been suggested. The township system does not 
necessitate such consolidation, although it is likely to work that 
way; but consolidation is almost wholly dependent upon that sys- 
tem; schools will not be consolidated in great numbers if a plurality 
of district school boards have to do the work. 

As mentioned above, some eight states have made legal 
provision for township organization. The states which 
have permissive legislation on the subject are: Connecti- 
cut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, 
North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. 

County Organization. — The states which have adopted 
the township unit for school purposes are the states which 
make use of the township unit for general purposes. A 
few of the Central states and most of the Western are 
organized under the district form, with here and there a 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 3 1 

leaning towards the township unit. In the South, how- 
ever, conditions are materially different. Here, a widely 
scattered population, large agricultural areas, and a dearth 
of village life, from the first called for a unit of gov- 
ernment organization radically different from the small, 
compact township used in the North. Thus the larger 
English county became established. From Virginia it 
spread over the entire South-Atlantic group, including 
Texas and Missouri, and from the frontier of the latter 
state went forth to Oregon, California, and Utah. Where- 
ever the county system was adopted for general govern- 
ment purposes it has become the unit of school administra- 
tion as well. 

It would seem, everything else being equal, that the 
county ought to make an ideal unit for school purposes, 
especially in the South with its many sparsely populated 
districts. The Subcommittee of Rural Schools, in its 
report, is very sanguine " that this mode of organization 
has a great future before it in the United States." And 
to prove this assertion it points to the very satisfactory 
operation of the system in Richmond county, Georgia, 
which includes the large city of Augusta. We read : — 

The county is the unit area of organization, and the rural parts 
and the urban parts of the county district, as far as practicable, 
are treated just alike. A board of education, composed of repre- 
sentatives elected by the people of the county for the term of three 
years, one third retiring each year, manages all the schools. The 
school tax is levied at a uniform rate upon all the property of the 



32 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

county, without revision by any other authority and without any 
limit as to rate or amount. The county and state funds are distrib- 
uted to the schools according to the number of children to be edu- 
cated. There is no district tax. The same qualifications are re- 
quired for country and for city teachers. The teachers are treated 
as nearly alike as the conditions admit, and they are paid about the 
same salaries. The schools are in session the same length of time 
in a year, nine calendar months. The country schoolhouses, on the 
average, are situated four miles apart, and no child is out of walking 
distance of a school open nine months in the year, and taught by a 
good teacher. One superintendent has charge of all the schools. 
Augusta has nine tenths of the taxable property of the county; but 
only three fourths of the school population. In other words, the 
rural parts of the county pay one tenth of the school tax and receive 
the benefit of one fourth of it. For the most part, these are excellent 
provisions. The county would seem to be the natural area unit for 
popular schools under the county system of local government. 

Necessary Reforms in the County System. — It is of 
peculiar interest to know that the states which have not 
subdivided the county for what is termed convenience in 
school administration report less difficulties than where 
subdivisions are made. Georgia, quoted above, and 
Maryland are examples of states which do not subdivide 
their counties. Each of which is for school purposes 
virtually one large school district. This places the com- 
plete management of the schools, including taxation, in 
the hands of a strong county board, and results in very 
equable administration. Alabama has until recently made 
use of the township as a taxing unit, and West Virginia has 
employed the so-called " magisterial district " for the same 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 33 

purpose. This has resulted in serious discrimination 
against the sparsely populated sections where but slight 
material development has taken place. The former 
state has made a decided change for the better in abandon- 
ing the old system. Superintendent Miller of the latter 
state recommends strongly a change, making the county 
the unit of distribution. With the inauguration in the 
Southern states generally of some such just and equable 
system of school administration as is practiced in counties 
of the type of Richmond county, Georgia, there is every 
reason to believe that this unit will prove highly satis- 
factory. 

The Community System. — Before leaving the units of 
organization we must dwell briefly upon one additional 
system, the community system of Texas. This " imprac- 
tical and inhibitive system," as State Superintendent R. B. 
Cousins very properly denominates it, is fortunately con- 
fined to the one state, and here greatly on the decline. 

The Community System. — Under this "system" any teacher, or 
other person interested, may direct a petition to the county super- 
intendent or county judge, place on it the names of the children that 
are to attend the school, procure the signature of parents and guard- 
ians of said children, and present this petition to the county judge 
or superintendent who credits the school with the state and county 
pro rata, and appoints three citizens to act as trustees for one year. 
At the end of the term the school dissolves into its original elements; 
as a school each is a mere experiment, which must be repeated from 
year to year, never advancing beyond the experimental stage. 

D 



34 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

At one time practically all the schools of the state were 
organized under this primitive system. But one by one 
the two hundred and fifty odd counties of the Lone Star 
state have transferred themselves to the district system, 
so that at the time of this writing barely a dozen counties 
remain on the community basis. A recent annual report 
of the state superintendent contains figures proving con- 
clusively that the community schools employ the poorest 
teachers; that their average daily attendance is very much 
lower than that for the whole state; that they are, besides, 
very expensive to maintain, costing the state annually 
a large sum in excess of their share of taxes. It thus ap- 
pears that this system has outlived its usefulness, and its 
passing will be cause for few regrets. 

The Board of Education: its Function. — The admin- 
istration of our rural schools is left in the hands of a board 
of control, usually designated by the name of " school 
board " or " board of education." This body has retained 
the administrative powers of the old New England school 
committee (see chapter on Supervision), although the 
latter's supervisory powers have been delegated to paid 
supervisors or superintendents. The function of the 
school board is clearly to provide the ways and means 
whereby to carry out the work of education. Board 
members are the representatives of the public, and their 
manifest duty is to carry out the will of this public in edu- 
cational matters. In no sense of the word, however, can 



tMVwW 








]W^ 


™ 




Schoolhouse built in Fillmore County, 
Minnesota, in 1858, and until re- 
cently used for school purposes. 



A well-kept rural school in Illinois. 




Old schoolhouse at Holden, Logan 
County, West Virginia, just re- 
placed with a splendid modern 
building. 




Schoolhouse in Clark County, Ohio, 
recently abandoned for a consoli- 
dated school. 




Schoolhouse in northeastern Ohio, re- 
cently abandoned for a consolidated • A dilapidated schoolhouse in eastern 
school. Kansas. 

A variety of one-room schools. 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 35 

they be considered as educators. If board members under- 
take to dictate methods of instruction or how the school 
ought to be managed, they unquestionably encroach upon 
the rights of the legally appointed teacher and the superin- 
tendent whose chief work lies in this part of the educational 
field. 

In view of the generally prevailing misconception of a 
school board's powers and duties, this matter cannot be 
emphasized too strongly. Board members should under- 
stand that their chief business is to provide the means of 
education — i.e. to secure building and equipment, engage 
teachers, and enforce attendance of children of school age. 
They may go so far as to undertake the role of helpful 
mentor to the teacher, but here their authority ends. 
An officious board member has not the right to inflict 
himself upon the teacher in educational matters. This 
may have been quite proper in the day of the old school 
committee, but that was before it voluntarily surrendered 
all rights of supervision. The rural teacher should under- 
stand these matters, and, if necessary, insist upon his 
rights. 

Work of the Board depends upon the Size of Geograph- 
ical Unit. — The foregoing discussion concerning the size of 
unit of organization and administration has made it suffi- 
ciently clear to the reader that the organization and work 
of the board must depend upon the size and organization 
of the geographical unit. Where the district unit is in 



36 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

vogue a small board, usually three men, — director, clerk, 
and treasurer, — administer school affairs. Under town- 
ship organization the board is generally larger, elected at 
large from over the township; or it may be composed, as in 
Iowa, of as many subdirectors as there are subdistricts 
(schoolhouse districts) in the township. Under county 
organization the number ranges from three upward. 
Sometimes they are elected by commissioner districts, 
sometimes from the county at large. 

Difficulty in procuring " Good " Board Members. — A 
great menace of the rural school is found in the general 
weakness of its boards. Very few country-bred persons 
have had adequate educational advantages to appreciate 
the needs of the schools. Those who are capable of filling 
this important office are usually too busy with other in- 
terests — or they do not consider the work worth their 
while. This results frequently in a board-organization 
of honest, well-meaning but ignorant and, therefore, ineffi- 
cient men, whose work is, now and then, further weakened 
by the addition of some aggressive, self-opinionated in- 
dividual with an ax to grind. Thrifty farmers who see 
the ideal rural school a reflection of the kind of school that 
they attended a generation ago are not likely to make 
good board members. They will be too apt to point back 
to the time-magnified virtues of the school of the olden time. 
Men whose education has taken them to college or the 
agricultural school have generally a broader view of life, 



ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 37 

and are the logical candidates for the office. But alto- 
gether too frequently such men cannot be induced to ac- 
cept what is considered a thankless job. 

Board Members might be Trained. — Our rural schools 
are suffering through the incompetence of school boards. 
If the best men cannot be induced to do their duty by the 
state, we should at least assist those who are willing to 
serve to do their best. We train teachers, then why not 
train board members, also ? Some states are already awake 
to the great possibilities of such enterprise. To illustrate : 
/enact laws which shall provide good pay as inducement to 
attend meetings of such members at the regular teachers' 
associations and the annual teachers' institutes, when they 
may be addressed by specialists on school administration 
and by other practical school men. Indeed, they may 
themselves take active part in the programme. This may be 
counted on to give the schools a progressive administra- 
tive force where we now have much of apathy and incom- 
petence. 

What an Active Board can Accomplish. — The school 
board represents the educational interests of its constitu- 
ents : (1) in the community, (2) in the school, and (3) with 
the superintendent. 

The members of the board should carry out the wishes 
of the annual school meeting which they represent; but 
their work does not end here. It is their manifest duty 
to further stimulate school progress among the very electors 



;S THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

who (mi them In office. They should plan for and secure 
Increased revenues with which i<> provide the best planl 
ami Instruction, [n other words, i h*-\ should bealezi to 
make their school the best possible. The members should, 
moreover) encourage the teacher by removing obstacles 

lv> progress, and pupils l>v frequenl visits and display 

of Interest, Above everything rise should they lend the 
superintendent every assistance to mold proper educa 
tional thoughl in the community, and then heed his advice 
in all matters relating to selection of teachers and equip 
ment; in plans For buildings, grounds, etcj In the general 
organisation ol school work, and in shaping the general 
school policy of their community! 



CHAI'TKK III 



Rural School Maintenance 

The first essentia] in the solution '<f the common school 
question i - . ample funds with v/iii(li to provide and main 

Tabli ' ExpiNDiTxnu I'M- f •/,,.,,/. -.I School Popvlati 



V.AP 


DJTUKl 

•x.75 


y. am 


(011 r;(M 
/Vr ' .tl.ihi 


i '.•/ o [871 


[8 lO. I I9O 




1 .'/I 187a 






I S3 


[800 [89I 




2 ',1 


187a [S73 






' ■'■ ! 


t891 1 "'/ ' 




2 40 


1873 t874 






1 


l890 (89 ', 




7 48 


1874 






1 '/' 


(893 l894 






' '•/; 1876 






> ■ 


|894 [895 






.'./'. 1877 






1 7* 


r .'.-/•; [896 






1 ■// 1878 






"•/ 


[896 [897 




9.63 








• ;'■ 


[897 (898 




2 67 


[879 [880 








[899 




j y/ 


t88o (881 








I899 t900 




g 84 


.. 188a 






1 V' 


t900 1901 




9 94 


188a 1883 






; SO 


[9OI 






1883 1884 








190a I9O3 






[884 1885 






[ '/, 


[993 [904 






\86 






' W 


[904 [905 




', •;; 


1886 1887 






' '/■/ 


1905 tood 






1887 (888 






j 07 


1906 1907 






1888 18S9 






a '•/ 







tain the schools. That the publii is awake to the hn 
portance oi school improvements \a well illustrated in 



4<D THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Table i, which shows that the per capita expenditure 
for the nation has more than doubled in thirty-seven years. 
The annual budget, as reported by the Commissioner of 
Education has assumed surprisingly large proportions. 
The common school expenditure in the states of our Union 
for the year 1906- 1907 reaches the grand total of 
$330,780,809, an increase of more than one hundred mil- 
lion in six years. Seventeen states expended more than 
$5,000,000 each, eleven more than $10,000,000 each, four 
more than $20,000,000 each, three more than $30,000,000 
each, and one more than $50,000,000. Statistics show that 
of the 16,820,386 pupils enrolled in urban and rural schools 
in 1906-1907, 5,500,266, or 32.7 per cent, were from urban 
centers (" villages and towns of 4000 population and over") 
and 11,320,120, or 67.3 per cent, were from rural dis- 
tricts (" outside of cities, towns, etc., of 4000 and over "). 
Further, out of the total annual expenditure, 
$181,567,632.54, or 54 per cent, was expended for the 
maintenance of urban schools, while only $149,113,168.48, 
or 45.6 per cent, was used for rural schools. This means, 
in other words, that while $33.01 was expended on the city 
child's education, the country child had to get along with 

$13.17- 

Now, on the presumption that city school expenditures 

are at the present time ample for all purposes, the figures 
would indicate that rural school efficiency cannot be at- 
tained, or approximated before the present rural school 



RURAL SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 



41 



budget is nearly trebled. This is the financial phase now 
calling for solution. 

Table 2. — Amount Expended for Common Schools Each Year 
between 1896-1907 1 









Expended for — 




Year 


Sites, Build- 
ings, Furni- 
ture, etc. 


Teachers' 
and Superin- 
tendents' 
Salaries 


All Other 
Purposes 


Total 
Expendi- 
ture 


1896-1897 . . . 


3 2 ,37 6 ,47 6 


119,310,503 


35.995.290 


187,682,269 


1897-1898 . 






31,415,233 


124,192,270 


38,685,408 


194,292,911 


1898-1899 . 






31,229,308 


129,345,873 


39,579,416 


200,154,597 


I 899-I 900 . 






35,450,820 


I 37> 68 7.746 


41,826,052 


214,964,618 


I 900-1 901 . 






39,872,278 


143.378,507 


44,272,042 


227,522,827 


1901-1902 . 






39,962,863 


i5 I ,443. 681 


46,855,755 


238,262,299 


1 902-1 903 a 






46,289,074 


157,110,108 


48,058,443 


25 I »457» 62 5 


1903-1904 a 






59.453. 26 9 


167,824,753 


55,938,205 


273,216,227 


1904-1905 a 






66,416,168 


177,462,981 


57,737,5" 


291,616,660 


1 905-1 906 a 






60,608,352 


186,483,664 


60,673,843 


307,765,659 


1 906-1 907 a 






65,817,870 


196,980,919 


67,882,012 


330,780,809 



Colonial Support of Public Schools. — In early colonial 
times school maintenance was wholly of a local character. 
Very frequently schools were established by private be- 
quest, or district and town taxes were levied, or tuition 
fees charged. Then, too, fines, penalties, and forfeitures 
imposed in certain courts, excise fees, poll taxes, taxes on 
the sale of spirituous liquors, and the income from public 
fish weirs all went for school support. As all these sources 
were inadequate, the colonists conceived the plan to set 



1 This table is compiled from the U.S. School Commissioner's report for 1007. Years 
marked a are subject to correction. 



42 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

apart public lands for these purposes, a plan which is 
indeed almost as old as our history. In 1616 the London 
Company granted 10,000 acres in Virginia for the establish- 
ment of an Indian school. This was followed up in several 
colonies with local grants. In 1733 Connecticut set apart 
a considerable area " to the perpetual use of schools." 
Fifty-three years later Massachusetts reserved a " school 
lot " of 320 acres in all townships of public lands " for the 
support of common schools in such townships." 

Creation of a Permanent School Fund. — Other states 
established permanent school funds either through ap- 
portionment and sale of land or through direct state appro- 
priation. New York established a permanent fund in 
1801, Virginia in 1810, South Carolina in 1811, Maine in 
1821, and North Carolina in 1825. The central govern- 
ment initiated its liberal policy of land grants when, under 
the Ordinance of 1787, it ordered "that one section (the 
sixteenth) of each township in the Northwest Territory 
should be designated as school land, and that the proceeds 
of its sale should go to the support of public schools." 
States added subsequent to 1848 have received the thirty- 
sixth section in addition to the sixteenth. Up to 1900 
nearly 86,000,000 acres had been devoted to this purpose. 
In addition to these grants surplus funds in the national 
treasury to the amount of $42,000,000 were, in 1836, dis- 
tributed among the thirty-seven states then organized, 
the funds thus received being generally devoted to the sup- 



RURAL SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 43 

port of education. The states have all made material 
additions to the permanent school fund (Appendix A). 
So that in 1906- 1907 it reached a grand total of $218,- 
973,736 with an annual income of $16,579,551. 

Permanent School Funds Inadequate. — But while this 
is a generous sum, it is, relatively speaking, inadequate for 
the ends intended. It is but a drop in our ocean of school 
maintenance. By way of illustration, it would require 
a permanent fund of almost $1,000,000,000 to defray the 
expenses, at the present rate of outlay, of New York State 
alone, to say nothing about the country at large. The 
early friends of this form of endowment did not even dream 
of the vast proportions which have been reached in recent 
years by our public school system — proportions which 
have in a way defeated the very purpose of these men. 
It is important at this point to understand that while the 
permanent funds have served a very useful purpose, es- 
pecially in the early stages of our educational endeavor, 
and should be carefully husbanded and administered, 
they must necessarily play a constantly diminishing part 
in popular education. 

An examination of Table 3 will show that the public 
school revenue is drawn from four sources — permanent 
funds, state taxes, local taxes, and other sources (bequests, 
fines, etc.). It appears further as a patent fact that while 
the income from the permanent school fund has little 
more than doubled in sixteen years, direct taxes — espe- 



44 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



cially local taxes — have increased manifold in the same 
space of time. On the percentage basis the permanent 
school fund represented .054 per cent of the total income 
in 1890, and only .048 per cent in 1907. It is evident 
from this that the great source of revenue in our country 
is, and must continue to be, taxation — state and local. 



Table 3. — Public School Income, by Years 





1875 


1880 


1885 


1890 


Permanent 
funds . . . 

State taxes . 

Local taxes . 

All other 
sources . . 











$ 7,744,764 

26,345,323 
97,222,426 

11,882,292 


Total . . . 


$ 88,648,950 


$ 83,940,239 


$113,521,895 


$143,194,803 




1897 


1902 


1906 


1907 


Permanent 
funds . . . 

State taxes . 

Local taxes . 

All other 
sources . . 


$ 9,047,097 
33,941,657 

IS ^ 1 ?,? 08 

18,652,90s 


$ 10,522,343 

3 8 ,330,589 

170,779,586 

29,742,141 


$ 11,641,059 

47,942,509 

223,49 I >405 

39,03 I »°3 I 


$ 16,579,551 

46,281,501 

230,424,554 

50,317,132 


Total . . . 


$19,1959,370 


$249,374,659 


$322,106,004 


$343,602,738 



" Manifestly such areas or units of taxation should be 
created, or continued if already in existence," says the Sub- 
committee on School Maintenance, " as will fully develop 



RURAL SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 45 

the sound American principle, that the whole wealth of the 
state shall be made available for educating all the youth of 
the state. This is both right and necessary, for it must be 
remembered that in the United States education is a civil 
or state function, to be supported like other similar func- 
tions." Such logical taxing areas are: (i) the state, 
(2) the county, (3) the township, (4) the district. 

The State a Logical Taxing Unit. — Of all systems of 
taxation the state is manifestly the most democratic and 
equable. Schools are certainly established for the good of 
the whole state. Ignorance or inefficiency in the local com- 
munity reflects on the entire commonwealth, and eventually 
levies a heavy burden on it for the maintenance of penal 
and similar institutions. There are tens of thousands of 
schools scattered over our country to-day that are carried 
on with the greatest difficulty. They are so small and poor 
that the burden of local taxes is almost unendurable; and, 
with all this, terms are short and the teaching poor. It 
is unjust that one district should tax itself three or four 
times as much as some more fortunately situated district 
in order to do its share of the work which primarily belongs 
to the state. It is unjust to the child and destructive to 
all civil endeavor to get along with these short terms and 
such indifferent instruction. By way of illustration, take 
the two New Hampshire towns of Ellsworth and Dublin. 
According to the school returns made July 15, 1906, the 
former had an equalized valuation per pupil of $1358, while 



46 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

the latter had $19,433. The former levied five mills for 
school purposes and realized only $9.54 per pupil, the latter 
levied only two and one half mills, but on the greater val- 
uation realized the handsome sum of $48.81 per pupil. 
This plainly shows that Dublin can raise fully ten times as 
many " sinews of war " for school maintenance, at an 
equal rate of taxation, as can Ellsworth. And the result ? 
Dublin pays an average salary of $42.40 for a term of 
thirty-six weeks, and Ellsworth, at the double tax rate, 
pays an average salary of only $18 for a term of twenty 
weeks ! 

State Taxation not on the Increase. — It is a fact to be 
deplored that our lawmakers do not take kindly to state 
taxation for school purposes. A glance at Table 4 reveals 
the truth that in the younger Western states and the South 
Atlantic states alone is this form of taxation on the in- 
crease. With the former the principle was incorporated in 
the fundamental law from the very beginning and shows 
very satisfactory results. To inaugurate uniform and 
equable systems of state taxation in the older states seems 
difficult at this late date. These states have so long de- 
pended upon their several local units that they rather resent 
the change; and especially are the cities and larger towns 
which have a large school valuation and school systems 
already in a high state of development, reluctant to make 
any such change. 

Several North Central states make no state levy at all, 



RURAL SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 



47 



although state superintendents have repeatedly petitioned 
their legislatures to make such provision. Kansas, for in- 
stance, levies neither a state nor a county tax and depends 
solely on local taxation and the income from the perma- 
nent fund. Repeated attempts have been made to place 
a state and county tax law on the statute books, but up to 
the present time they have ended in failure. 

Table 4." — State and Local Taxes on the Percentage Basis 





1894-95 


1905-6 


1906-7 


Divisions 


State 
Taxes 


Local 
Taxes 


State 
Taxes 


Local 
Taxes 


State 
Taxes 


Local 
Taxes 


North Atlantic States . . 
South Atlantic States . . 
South Central States . . 
North Central States . . 
Western States .... 


19.4 
38.I 
48.4 
9.9 
23.0 


68.2 

3i-7 
75-4 
61.3 


12.17 

39.OI 

35-78 

6.88 

28.70 


71.67 

53-91 
42.22 

76.57 
61.77 


II.82 
41.OI 
38.03 
3-84 
26.43 


76.41 
51.89 
32.02 
69.09 
55-2.3 


United States 


27.76 


57-58 


14.69 


69.64 


13-47 


67.06 



It should be understood, finally, that where wealth 
abounds and is fairly well distributed, as, for instance, in 
uniformly developed agricultural states, there is not the 
same necessity for a state system of taxation as where the 
state presents the extremes of wealth and poverty, of con- 
centrated population and scattered population. 

County and Township Taxation. — A further inspection 
of Table 4 reveals that 67.06 per cent of the school reve- 
nues of the country comes from local taxes, 13,47 per cent 
from state taxes, and 19.47 per cent from all other sources. 



4§ 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



Unfortunately the Bureau of Education offers no statistics 
showing just how the 67.06 per cent is apportioned among 
county, town, and district. An examination of many state 
reports shows conclusively, however, that there is a gradual 
shifting from the small and undesirable district unit to the 
larger town and county. Table 5, taken from the 1905 
report of the Connecticut Board of Education, illustrates 
this tendency. 



Table 5. — Illustrating Decline 


of District Taxation 




District 


Per 


Town 


Per 


State 


Per 


Year 


Tax 


Cent 


Tax 


Cent 


Tax 


Cent 


189S 


655,177.02 


26.6 


1,195,138.88 


48.6 


255.883.50 


10.4 


1896 


708,509.63 


28.3 


1,259,660.70 


5°-3 


261,664.50 


10.4 


1897 


701,634.08 


25.6 


1,474,566.19 


53-8 


290,818.67 


10.6 


1898 


769,686.94 


27.0 


1,384,614.12 


4S.6 


291,848.84 


10.2 


1899 


853.437-25 


27.9 


1,661,934.00 


54-4 


313,140.46 


10.2 


1900 


828,015.78 


27.S 


1,489,243.42 


50.1 


315,360.23 


10.6 


1901 


93°>3 27-98 


29.7 


1,631,727.67 


52.2 


326,576.98 


10.4 


1902 


659,248.06 


19.1 


2,104,120.34 


61. 1 


348,448.79 


IO.I 


I903 


664,075.81 


19.2 


2,077,105.9s 


60.8 


363,35i-53 


10.5 


1904 


641,854.42 


17.0 


2,252,557.98 


59-7 


399,131.35 


10.5 



Conclusion Drawn. — It will now suffice to say that cir- 
cumstances alone must determine this matter of taxation. 
In states where the county system of government prevails 
this should naturally become the unit of taxation; in 
states where the township is the political unit of govern- 
ment this should likewise become the unit for school reve- 
nue. These remarks apply in a similar manner to coun- 



RURAL SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 49 

ties where the mixed system of government prevails. It is 
very essential to realize that the idea of taxation should 
be consistent with the general social and political habits 
of the community. In no case does it seem wise to depend 
on any one form of taxation to the exclusion of others. 
Experience favors a combination of all. We have found 
that state taxation is both just and wise. Local taxation, 
more than any other agency, keeps alive and fosters local 
interest in school affairs, and withal develops a great meas- 
ure of local independence and self-reliance. What our 
rural schools demand, then, is (i) a persistent and rational 
scaling up of all the several sources of revenue till a true 
equilibrium shall appear in state and local taxation; and 
(2) a liberal increase of taxation all along the line. This 
alone can elevate the rural school to the level of the city 
school — financially. 



CHAPTER IV 
Rural School Supervision 

General Statement : the Business Side. — The time 
has arrived when incidental and slipshod supervision in our 
rural schools must cease. True educational interests 
demand this. Skilled supervision is undeniably essential 
for the future efficiency of school education. Indeed, all 
successful industrial and business enterprises of the present 
time are based and operated on the principle of expert 
supervision. Trained specialists have systematized our 
giant industries and business enterprises till the minimum 
of cost has resulted in the maximum of remuneration. 
Shall we not do as well by our schools? Surely the only 
sensible way is to apply the same business principles to the 
management of our schools that we do to our private 
affairs ! 

City Supervision vs. Rural Supervision. — Our city 
schools are well organized, well disciplined, and well 
instructed, because we have professional city superin- 
tendents. These are generally college men who, having 
served their apprenticeship as instructors or principals 
in less important schools, were advanced to the superin- 

5° 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 5 1 

tendency because of real worth and thorough qualifications. 
Professional prestige and reasonable remuneration have 
enlisted, and been sufficient to continue, our best educa- 
tional talent in this field. But, meanwhile, what of our 
rural schools? What of the schools in which a majority 
of American children must receive their education ? The 
answer: They have been neglected most shamefully in 
many sections of the country and left to a haphazard 
supervision that is usually underpaid and often both un- 
skilled and inefficient. And is it at all surprising that the 
rural school superintendency does not attract and retain 
our best educational talent? Assuredly not. The office, 
which in reality is the most important public holding in 
the gift of a community, is seldom recognized as such by 
the general public, a fact going far to divest it of the pro- 
fessional dignity which is its due. As a matter of fact the 
office is all too often dragged to the level of party politics 
and made to depend upon political favor instead of in- 
dividual worth. When to this we add the slight oppor- 
tunity for professional promotion in the superintendency 
and a salary often so inadequate as to be beggarly, we 
shall have little reason to be surprised that our best teachers 
prefer employment elsewhere. What, then, can be done 
or, rather, what is being done, to remedy these defects in 
our system? We shall see. 

Origin of School Boards and School Superintendents. — 
Rural school supervision, such as it is, is the result of long 



52 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

growth. The Massachusetts Act of 1789 charged the min- 
isters of the Gospel and selectmen of the several towns 
or districts with the supervision of schools. This " school 
committee " was charged with the election of teachers, 
the visitation and inspection of schools, the enforcement 
of discipline, and many other duties. Similar committees 
came into existence in other states. They were from the 
leading men of the community who took commendable 
pride in seeing that the master earned his salary " and kept 
his pupils in paths of righteousness and godliness." Their 
tasks were both of an administrative and a supervisory 
nature. In time, as population increased, these duties 
became multiplied and complex, requiring more time than 
an unsalaried committee would care to give the work. 
The natural result was division of labor and specialization. 
The administrative functions have been retained by the 
school committee which to-day finds expression in the dis- 
trict, town, and county board of education, or just plain 
school board, while the supervisory functions have been 
delegated to a supervisor or superintendent, whose unit 
of supervision corresponds with the administrative unit of 
the board. 

The Question of Supervision Unit. — The first of the 
several phases of this question to enter into our discussion 
may well be the unit of supervision. 

Thirty-nine states, mainly west and south, leave the 
general supervision in the hands of elective or appointive 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 53 

officials — county superintendents or, as in Louisiana, 
parish superintendents and, in Michigan and New York, 
respectively, county and district commissioners of educa- 
tion. The New England states generally choose union 
district or town (township) superintendents. Several 
states provide both county and township superintendents 

— a very thoroughgoing system. Again others of the 
county unit class have permissive legislation on the elec- 
tion of township superintendents. 

A careful investigation of the subject will show that the 
unit of supervision which suits one section of the country 
is not necessarily the best unit for every other section. 
Says the Committee on Rural Schools : — 

The simplicity and effectiveness of supervision are promoted when 
the units of political organization and of school administration are 
identical. This condition has its limitations, however, in the amount 
of territory to be covered and in the density of population, which is 
a varying quantity. The main point is to bring every rural school of 
the country as far as possible under the watchful care of a competent 
supervising officer. Responsibility is a strong stimulant. It is one 
of the weak points in our present system that too often the rural 
school-teacher is responsible to no one. 

Township and District Superintendents in New England. 

— The enactment of the Massachusetts Supervision Law, 
in 1888, marks the beginning of great things in New 
England rural school organization, methods of instruction 
and discipline. Heretofore school supervision was hardly 
worth the name. The work of the early committee had 



54 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

been limited to incidental visitation once or twice a year. 
Even when later the law required them to elect one of their 
own number to act as supervisor of common schools, 
at a stated sum per diem, no marked improvement was 
noticed. The reason is not far to seek : such supervisors 
were usually men of affairs whose vital interests centered 
in some other occupation, who gave the work of school 
supervision only such time as they could spare from their 
regular business. They lacked professional training and 
schoolroom experience. Moreover, the remuneration was 
too meager to be an inducement to their best efforts. 

Manifestly, the solution lay in larger supervisory dis- 
tricts. Towns could be brought together for the purpose 
of supervision in numbers sufficiently large to warrant the 
engagement of a professional superintendent, who should 
devote his entire time to work in such a union district. 
His salary could then be paid on a pro rata basis by the 
several towns comprising the district. This was the plan 
realized under the Massachusetts Act of 1888. 

In Massachusetts. — This act has brought practically 
the entire rural population of the state under professional 
supervision. The results have been almost phenomenal. 
As early as 1896 the State Board of Education wrote: — 

Wherever this policy has been fairly tried, whether in the large 
cities or in the small towns, the recognition of its importance as a 
prime factor in the improvement of the public schools is nearly or quite 
universal. Practically, the question may be said to have passed the 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 55 

debatable stage. The chief benefits resulting from the employment 
of trained and skillful superintendents are these : more regular and 
increased attendance, greater economy in the expenditure of money, 
and greater interest in the schools on the part of the pupils, parents, 
and the community in general. 

In Connecticut. — We shall not take the time to discuss 
the details of the Massachusetts Act, but may instead 
consider some of the interesting provisions of another law 
of great importance; namely, the Connecticut Act of 1903. 
While in principle the two are much alike, Connecticut 
has profited by the experiences of her neighbor and im- 
proved upon the earlier act. The leading provisions may 
be summed up as follows : — 

Section I. The larger towns may — through their school com- 
mittee — elect a superintendent of schools, fix his salary, and prescribe 
his duties. Several towns are acting successfully under this clause. 

Section II. Two or more towns which together employ not less 
than twenty-five nor more than fifty teachers may unite to form a 
supervision district. A joint school committee may then be appointed, 
which shall be a joint committee on behalf of the several towns con- 
stituting the supervision district. This committee shall then employ 
a superintendent, fix and apportion his salary, and manage the 
affairs of the district. Four districts of two towns each have been 
organized under this clause. 

Section III. Wherever a superintendent has been employed ac- 
cording to the provisions of Section II, the state shall pay one half 
of such superintendent's salary, provided that it shall not pay to ex- 
ceed $800 in one year to any one district. 

Section IV. The superintendent must have had at least five years' 
successful experience as teacher or superintendent or hold a cer- 
tificate of approval by the state board of education. 



56 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Section V. The state is authorized to appoint agents who shall 
be superintendents in towns having ten or less teachers. In such 
case the town pays one fourth of such superintendent's salary and 
the state the remaining three fourths. Eight towns have applied 
for agents under this clause, and appointments have been made. 

Frank 0. Jones on the Connecticut and Massachusetts 

Systems. — Mr. Frank O. Jones, state agent for the towns 
of Prospect and North Canaan, in his report to the secre- 
tary of the Connecticut State Board of Education, makes 
a very instructive comparison of this law with the Massa- 
chusetts law, which is here reproduced in part. He 
says : — 

The outlook for supervision in Connecticut is especially good when 
comparison is made between its supervision law and that of Massa- 
chusetts, under which supervision has been extraordinarily successful. 

The Massachusetts law was enacted in 1888. Connecticut, there- 
fore, was enabled to profit by the experience of her neighbor and to 
improve upon the earlier law. In the Massachusetts law no quali- 
fications on the part of the superintendent were required, either of 
education or of experience. In Connecticut the superintendent 
must have had at least five years' successful experience as a teacher 
or superintendent, or must hold a certificate of approval by the state 
board of education. Both laws permit two or more towns to unite 
for the purpose of employing a superintendent for the district. The 
state of Massachusetts, however, pays to the district one half of such 
superintendent's salary up to $750, while Connecticut reimburses 
the district for one half of such salary up to $800. The Connecticut 
law has a section, which has no counterpart in the Massachusetts 
law, enabling a town employing not more than ten teachers to apply 
to the state board of education to appoint a superintendent, the town 
paying one fourth and the state three fourths of his salary. The num- 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 57 

ber of schools being limited to ten, a superintendent of considerable 
experience may be able to take charge of the schools of such a town 
in addition to his work in a larger place, thus giving the small country 
towns the unusual advantage of having supervision of equal efficiency 
with that of the larger towns. 

In Other New England States. — The other New Eng- 
land states have permissive legislation on the subject of 
union district supervision. Maine and New Hampshire 
have made remarkable progress in scholastic lines since 
the enactment of the law; Rhode Island has given it some 
attention; Vermont, the last state in the group to adopt 
the system, has just placed a very effective law upon its 
statute books. 

Ohio and several other states westward have a few 
union districts or township districts in the experimental 
stage. Such districts are unquestionably the most satis- 
factory supervision units in states under township organ- 
ization, and may, no doubt, prove satisfactory in states 
under the mixed county-township system as well. 

The County Superintendency. — The states which main- 
tain county superintendents exemplify various stages of 
evolution in county supervision. Some few have devel- 
oped the system in a very satisfactory way and attain good 
results; but a majority of states under county organiza- 
tion cannot boast such results. County supervision, as 
now generally practiced, does not discharge the important 
duties of close, intelligent, helpful supervision. Some 
of the older states southward have been very neglectful 



58 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

of school supervision. There are states in our Union in 
which, until recently, rural school supervision existed in 
name only. Arkansas, for example, has been satisfied 
for years to get along with such incidental supervision as 
her " county examiners " — men similar to the old New 
England district supervisors, with whom school inspection 
was a side issue rather than vocation — cared to give. 
Fortunately for the future of her schools the state is even 
now passing from the antiquated examiner system to that 
of county superintendent. Several of the younger states 
suffer under similar difficulties. Such a one is Nevada. 
Here a state legislature, in evident harmony with economy 
but with utter disregard for the prosperity of the rural 
schools, passed an act in 1885 abolishing the county 
superintendency and making district attorneys ex officio 
county superintendents of schools — an act which was 
denounced by the state superintendent as " vicious, ret- 
rograde legislation and a standing reproach to the 
state." 

County Supervision as it often Is. — The most perplex- 
ing thing in the matter of county supervision is the gener- 
ally large unit. The county, indeed, is as much too large 
for such purposes as the township is too small. The 
statement as here made is general and has its exceptions; 
for there are to be found many counties which certainly 
are neither too large nor have they too many teachers 
for one able superintendent to manage. But, averaging 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 59 

things up, we find it is just as unreasonable to expect 
satisfactory results from county supervision as now gen- 
erally practiced as it was under the old town regime. 
Teachers who have taught in rural schools, and who are 
therefore conversant with the facts in the case, agree that 
the county superintendent, even when qualified and pro- 
gressive, is unable by reason of circumstances to give 
them effective assistance in supervision. His perfunctory 
" calls " once or twice during the school year can hardly 
be dignified with the name supervision. Such visits too 
often take the nature of an inquisition to both teacher 
and pupils, and his departure is welcomed with a sigh of 
relief. No one in particular is responsible for this condi- 
tion of affairs. The superintendent is, and remains, a 
stranger to the average rural child and to many rural 
teachers. He comes out from the county seat occasionally 
to criticise, they say, and to show his authority as the duly 
elected head of the county schools ! 

But, as has been said, the average superintendent is an 
official whose tirre is given to drawing warrants, issuing 
circular letters, compiling statistics, and performing other 
clerical duties incident to his office. To many superin- 
tendents the office work appears the most important. 
Through it they come in touch with the political world 
which placed them in office, and the commissioners who 
vote them their pay. The monthly teachers' meeting and 
the annual teachers' institute are their chief source of 



6o THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

contact with their teachers and completes the circle of 
their annual routine. 

It is agreed that the county unit is too large; but, then, 
what can be done about it ? The younger states with their 
large counties and sparse population and the poorest 
among the older states, we fear, are destined to struggle 
along in much the same way that they are now doing for 
years to come. But this need not be the case with the large 
number of wealthy, well-populated states under county 
supervision. 

Whenever a business man realizes that his business 
enterprise has grown to such dimensions that he can no 
longer do the work alone without seriously crippling his 
business, he immediately casts about for assistance. This 
is business in the business world. Why should it not be 
the same in the educational world ? 

Proposed Remedies. — The really encouraging feature 
of the whole situation is that educators are fully alive 
to the seriousness of the situation. Several remedies are 
proposed. One plan is to furnish the superintendent with 
competent office help, which would enable him to spend 
all his time in the field, to visit the schools, visit the patrons, 
hold township and county school meetings, and organize 
parents' meetings. In short, it would give him time to 
lead, to originate, to promote things educational. Another 
plan is to subdivide the county into two or more supervision 
districts, as they may be needed; each to be supervised by 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 6l 

a practical teacher appointed by the county superintend- 
ent, who shall invariably be held responsible for the con- 
duct of his appointive deputies. Both plans are certainly 
feasible and should be given serious trial. 

What Some States are accomplishing for Better County 
Supervision. — A number of Wisconsin counties provide 
clerical assistants for their superintendents. Minnesota 
advocates the appointment of an assistant county superin- 
tendent in every county of one hundred and fifty or more 
districts. The Kansas Educational Commission hopes 
for the enactment of a law to provide superintendents who 
have seventy-five or more teachers with clerical help, at 
least during their busy season. New Jersey appropriates 
$600 per annum for every township that employs a su- 
perintendent or, as there called, supervising principal. 
Oregon furnishes all necessary office help; the same is 
true of California. North Dakota insists that the super- 
intendent should have sufficient assistance so that he and 
his deputies would each have the supervision of not more 
than fifty schools. 

From the above and an abundance of like testimony 
from other states we can get some conception of the head- 
way making for more satisfactory county supervision. 

A second phase of this question is the election of the 
superintendent. 

The Superintendent must be removed from Party Poli- 
tics. — It is conceded that rural supervision cannot be put 



62 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

on a true professional basis before the election of the 
superintendent is removed from party politics. The elimi- 
nation of partisanship is the only guarantee we have that 
qualifications and real fitness of the candidate would be 
given just consideration. Now, where the office is political, 
many of our best teachers deem it unprofessional to enter 
the contest for office, and the mere political vote-getter 
walks off with the office. 

Fortunately this evil is limited mainly to the Western 
and Southern states, and even here a strong sentiment 
is at work to correct it. Where township or township- 
district supervision prevails the superintendent is chosen by 
the town school committee or joint town district committee. 
Such election is strictly non-partisan. Even county super- 
intendents are not always left to popular election. In some 
states they are chosen by county boards of education; 
in others by the state board of education; and in still 
others by the state superintendent. 

How elected in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. — New 
Jersey is an example of a state in which the state board 
of education elects all county superintendents. The latter 
are looked upon as state officers, and provisions are ac- 
cordingly made for the payment of their salaries by the 
state, which is generous in its support of public schools, 
paying both teachers and superintendents living salaries. 
County superintendents receive $2000 per annum from 
the state and an allowance of $350 from the county for 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 63 

traveling expenses. In Pennsylvania the school boards 
of each county meet in mass convention and elect a county 
superintendent for a three-year term. The method has 
proved very satisfactory. It removed the office from 
party politics; placed it directly in the hands of the school 
officers themselves; and gives them withal an opportunity 
to come into closer relationship with each other. 

North Carolina may well serve as another example of 
a state pursuing a liberal policy in the election of county 
superintendent. Here he is chosen by the county board 
of education, without regard to politics. The state super- 
intendent of public instruction in his interpretation of 
this section of the revised statutes finds occasion to make 
use of these ringing words: — 

Ringing Words from North Carolina. — The board has no more 
important duty than this, of electing a county superintendent. I beg 
to urge the observance of the following in the selection of a county 
superintendent: — 

(1) Without fear, without prejudice, political or sectarian, having 
before your eyes only the welfare of the children and the success of 
the public schools, select the most competent man to be had for the 
money, choosing him from your county if such a man is to be found 
there, and if not to be found in the county, seeking him wherever he 
can be found, as the law permits. (2) If your present county super- 
intendent possesses the necessary qualifications for a successful ad- 
ministration of his delicate, difficult, and important duties, as I trust 
he may, reelect him and give him a chance to show what is in him 
and to make a greater success of his work, by paying him, if possible, 
a sufficient salary, under Section 2782, to justify him in giving all his 
time and thought to the work of supervision, and to justify you 



64 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

in requiring him to do this. (3) Take advantage of the law and 
pay your superintendent as large a salary as your school fund 
will justify, but be sure that you get more man and more time for 
more money. 

Minnesota Plan of Electing Superintendents. — Minne- 
sota is still another of the many progressive states striving 
to attain a professional basis in county supervision. Here 
the office of county superintendent is still political, though 
it is only a question of time when it shall be removed 
from party politics. A recent legislative committee of the 
Minnesota Educational Association recommends the fol- 
lowing excellent plan as a substitute for the prevailing 
mode of electing superintendents : — 

The creation of a county board of education, to be elected at the 
annual school meeting; such board to be non-partisan; one member 
of such board to be elected from each county commissioner's district; 
the term of office to be four years. At the first election odd-numbered 
districts to elect for two years. Such board to meet four times a year. 
The members of such board to be paid actual traveling expenses and 
per diem compensation. Such board to elect the county superintend- 
ent of schools. The county superintendent to be elected for two 
years, and to be ex-officio member of the board. County superin- 
tendents to be paid a minimum salary of $15 per district; provided, 
however, that in counties of 150 districts or over an assistant super- 
intendent shall be engaged; provided, also, that county superintend- 
ents shall receive as traveling expenses a sum not to exceed $3 per 
district for actual expenses incurred in visiting schools. That ex- 
county superintendents and present incumbents shall be eligible to 
office; qualification for office to be the holding of a first-grade certifi- 
cate or its equivalent. 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 65 

Such a plan, as here outlined, presents many advan- 
tages : — 

1. It leaves the election of superintendent in the hands 
of a non-partisan board. 

2. It increases the interest in and importance of the 
annual school meetings. 

3. It provides a living salary, and, in large counties, 
an assistant superintendent. 

4. It prescribes some reasonable qualifications for the 
office. 

The Kansas Plan of 1908. — The Kansas Educational 
Commission offers the following plan for removing the 
superintendency from party politics, which was reported 
to the State Teachers' Association held in December, 
1908, and adopted by it: — 

First, the candidates for county superintendent shall be the two 
legally qualified persons receiving the highest number of votes for 
such nomination cast by the legal school meetings next preceding the 
biennial general election; second, the names of two said persons shall 
be printed in the independent column on the general election ballot; 
provided that nothing in this provision shall prevent the name of any 
other candidate from appearing in the independent column in the 
manner already prescribed by law. 

The merits of the Kansas plan are in great part similar 
to those of the Minnesota plan : — 

1. The removal of the office from party politics. 

2. Women, who in this state may vote in school elec- 
tions, will have a voice in choosing the candidates for the 
office. 

3. The nominations will be made by the voters suffi- 



66 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

ciently interested in school affairs to attend the annual 
meetings. 

4. The annual meetings will be better attended than 
heretofore, because of this increased responsibility and 
duty, and will redound to the benefit of the schools. 

The last, and in some respects the most important, phase 
of the subject to engross our time is the superintendent's 
qualifications. 

Present Conditions : a Lack of Qualifications. — The 
old New England town superintendents were clergymen, 
farmers, merchants, doctors, — anything and everything 
except trained superintendents. The political county 
superintendents were, and are yet, largely chosen from the 
ranks of men more apt in manipulating votes at the pri- 
maries or party conventions than in the pursuits of the 
teaching profession. Such things should cease to be. 
The time has come to insist upon a certain degree of quali- 
fication, fixed by law, for the performance of the impor- 
tant office of school superintendent. He should at least 
know as much about the details of school routine as the 
teachers under his control. But it is a lamentable truth 
that many of the men who to-day supervise the training 
of children in rural schools know vastly less about teaching 
than do their own teachers. 

Academic and Professional Qualifications of Superin- 
tendents. — What, then, is a professional school super- 
intendent? We answer: a well-educated, well-trained 
teacher, who, partly through study and partly through 



RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 67 

experience, has succeeded in his life-work — viz. in direct- 
ing teachers and school interests. He should approximate 
the following academic and professional qualifications 
which may reasonably be expected : — ■ 

a. A minimum of a full high school course, or its equiva- 
lent. This will give him a technical knowledge of all 
subjects taught in the rural schools, and will furnish, 
besides, in the subjects studied but not required in the 
rural schools, a reserve force and breadth of vision which 
will make him a stronger supervisor for having mastered 
them. 

b. A thorough knowledge of the professional subjects 
which lie at the root of the theory and art of teaching, 
i.e. psychology and child study, philosophy of education, 
history of education, methods of teaching, school manage- 
ment, school law and economics, and practice teaching. 

c. A teaching experience of at least twenty-one months 
within the five years immediately preceding his appoint- 
ment. 

d. Satisfactory testimonials or other evidence setting 
forth : (1) his success in conducting recitations, (2) ability 
as disciplinarian, (3) skill as supervisor (if already tried) , 
(4) power of organization and administration, and (5) gen- 
eral business tact. 

e. A professional certificate granted as a result of a 
searching examination in academic and professional sub- 
jects, together with other requirements set forth above. 

Such legal requirements will protect our schools against 
the machinations of the politician. They may not keep 
him from becoming superintendent, perhaps, but they 
certainly will oblige him to become qualified first. 

A Summary of what is being done for Rural Supervision. 

— Lack of space forbids that we should pursue this inter- 



68 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

esting subject any farther. Considerable progress has been 
made along certain lines which will eventually place rural 
school supervision on a professional plane. The unit 
of supervision is already satisfactorily adjusted in many 
states, and many others expect to reach a speedy solution 
of the problem. Educators everywhere are pretty gen- 
erally agreed that the superintendency must be removed 
from party politics. The East generally leaves the choice 
of superintendent in the hands of a non-partisan board, 
local or state. Even the West and South, where the office 
is political, are planning for a change. And, best of all, 
the entire Union of states seems to stand united in its de- 
mands for a higher standard of qualifications for the 
office of superintendent. When these things are con- 
summated, and not before, will our country boys and 
girls be brought under a system of supervision as inspiring 
and wholesome as that now enjoyed by their city cousins. 



CHAPTER V 

The Rural School Teacher — his Training 

The Perplexing Teaching Problem. — Preceding chapters 
have dealt with the importance of proper organization and 
administration in rural schools, of the urgent demand for 
greater liberality in financial support, and the necessity 
for professional supervision. But the problem of all the 
problems which await our solution in these same schools 
is the teaching problem. It would avail but little were all 
other conditions satisfactory, if the teacher, on whom, after 
all, the great responsibility of education rests, does not 
measure up to the required standard. The old saying 
that " as the teacher, so is the school" is as true to-day 
as it was a hundred years ago. If we would have our 
rural schools measure up with the city schools, we must 
provide as good teachers for the rural districts as may 
now be found in the cities. And this can only be accom- 
plished after surmounting many vexing difficulties. Do 
not misunderstand this statement. All rural teachers are 
not poor teachers, nor are all rural schools bad. Far 
from it! Our country districts have thousands of con- 
scientious, hard-working teachers who have fought their 

6 9 



70 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

way, through many difficulties, to the professional plane. 
These are generally progressive and take advantage of 
every means for self-improvement placed at their disposal. 
All honor is due them for much really good work already 
accomplished. For their protection and the welfare of 
all rural schools the difficulties in the way of satisfactory 
work must be removed. Of these we have already 
considered : — 

i. Poor unit organization and indifferent administra- 
tion. 

2. Insufficient school support. 

3. Insufficient supervision. 

To these we now add : — 

4. Indifferent professional preparation of teacher. 

5. Low salary. 

6. Unsatisfactory tenure of office. 

7. Short terms and irregular attendance. 

8. Low educational ideals and lack of appreciation of 
importance of teachers' work. 

These questions will be discussed in turn, beginning with 
the teacher's professional preparation. 

" Born " Teachers and " Made " Teachers. — Some 
people will never get tired of telling us that " teachers are 
born, not made," and not altogether without reason, for 
some innate qualities are essential for the making of, at 
any rate, the best teachers. That all teachers are not 
" born " is obvious. The main trouble is that the " born " 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 71 

teachers are not born fast enough to supply the ever in- 
creasing demand. This leaves us the alternative either to 
" make " teachers or to get along with " makeshift " 
teachers. We do both. Hundreds of permanent training 
schools throughout the country are at work " to make " 
teachers and aid " born " teachers. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, many so-called teachers of the present day can neither 
be said to have been " born " or to have been " made." 
They are neither natural teachers nor professionally trained 
teachers — they are mere makeshifts, who neither pursue 
their work for the love of it nor because they are especially 
equipped, but simply because they must do something. 
These hangers-on, using teaching as a stepping stone to 
something better, are the individuals forever throwing ob- 
stacles in the way of teaching's becoming a real profession. 
The High Calling of the Teacher. — No one should enter 
lightly upon the work of teaching, as this is assuredly 
the most glorious of callings, and also one of the most 
exacting. Let every one consider well the great oppor- 
tunities and responsibilities involved in teaching children, 
in molding their lives, in preparing them for their great 
heritage. The Pestalozzis and Froebels of history have 
invariably entered upon the work with prayerful hearts, 
in full realization of their own unworthiness. Let none 
of us do less. No young person should venture to teach 
who is not satisfied of his own fitness for the calling. 
Certain natural qualifications are essential in the make-up 



72 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

of every successful teacher. Here, too, must be added a 
reasonable degree of academic and professional training. 
Thus equipped, young men and young women may face 
the future with fair reason to believe that success will 
crown their efforts. 

Our theme is the professional training of rural teachers; 
but, first, let us enumerate some of the qualifications that 
every teacher must have to be a worthy teacher: — 

Natural qualifications : — 
He must have, — 

i. A sound body and good health. 

2. Good common sense. 

3. Natural aptitude and insight into things educational. 

4. A social and agreeable nature. 

5. Patience, sympathy, and love for children. 

He must be — 

1. Tactful and logical. 

2. Genuine, whole-souled, and manly. 

3. Frank and unsuspicious. 

4. Firm and self-reliant. 

5. Altruistic. 

The mere possession of these natural qualities, while 
very essential, is not in itself sufficient to make the teacher. 
There must be added an acquired training : (1) academic 
and (2) professional. 

Academic Training. — In general, no person should be 
permitted to teach school who has not completed a high 
school course or its equivalent. The high school graduate 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 73 

may have pursued many subjects which he will never be 
called upon to teach in rural schools; but such subjects 
are certain to furnish him with a valuable reserve store of 
energy to draw upon as occasion may direct. A teacher so 
equipped is reasonably safe from the pitfalls and ruts ever 
threatening his co-worker whose educational horizon is 
narrower and less distinct. 

No teacher can get too thorough an academic training. 
"Thorough mastery of the academic knowledge of sub- 
jects," says Dr. Levi Seeley, " is absolutely essential, and 
no methods or school room devices or superficial tactics 
can take its place. More teachers fail from ignorance 
of the subject matter than from any other cause." 

Professional Training. — But if teaching is to be es- 
tablished on a professional basis, a specific knowledge 
of the science and art of teaching is indispensable. What 
person would for a moment think of becoming a surgeon 
and try his skill upon the human anatomy without first 
pursuing a course of study in some reputable school of 
medicine, albeit a college-bred man? We answer: no 
one. No more, it seems to me, should a teacher, untrained 
professionally, be permitted to learn his art in the school- 
room, through experimentation on human minds and 
souls. Every teacher, indeed, from the ungraded rural 
school to the college, should know something about the 
professional subjects — psychology and child study, 
philosophy of education, history of education, methods 



74 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

of teaching, school management, school economics, and 
school law. 

Rural Teachers must make the School an Expression 
of Life on the Farm. — The degree of proficiency required 
in these subjects will naturally depend upon the kind of 
school for which the teacher is preparing. It is evident 
that if all this agitation concerning redirecting and revital- 
izing the rural schools shall ever produce concrete results, 
we must have teachers equipped to make the rural school 
a natural expression of life in the average rural community. 
Such teachers are not yet very plentiful. As a matter of 
fact, we are not suffering so much from a dearth of teachers 
with a good academic preparation, as we are from a lack 
of teachers professionally trained to take hold of the new 
trend of education in rural communities. A majority of 
rural teachers have a fair knowledge of subjects, gained 
usually in city schools and in city environments. This is 
an unfortunate circumstance. For it is difficult for young 
teachers whose very lives are centered, or have been cen- 
tered, on the city to enter into the spirit of the new rural life. 
The few teachers who are reared on the farm are no better 
situated, for they are usually defective both in academic 
and professional training. Many of the normal schools, 
while beginning to grasp the significance of the farm 
movement, have not, up to the present time, made any pro- 
visions worth mention for training rural teachers; or they 
are already taxed to their full capacity to supply the de- 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 75 

mands for better-paid city teachers. Evidently, it will be 
necessary to make a radical extension in the normal schools 
to meet the needs of the rural teacher or to establish alto- 
gether new training schools for this purpose. It may 
become necessary to do both. 

Aids to Teachers already in Rural Schools. — For the 
present, at least, the task of redirecting and revitalizing 
the rural schools will fall mostly to teachers who are now 
engaged in the schools. They have had no particular 
training in the new education, and must, consequently, 
get this training as best they can from the various agencies 
at their disposal. 

The most important are: (i) summer schools, (2) 
teachers' institutes, (3) teachers' meetings, (4) read- 
ing circles, and other work of similar nature. 

While such agencies cannot be expected to take the place 
of regular school education they may be sufficient to put the 
practical teacher in touch with the new problems and fire 
him with a zeal and desire for better things. 

Summer Schools. — Since rural teachers as a rule have 
long summer vacations, the summer school naturally 
is one of the most valuable aids within their reach. The 
number of summer schools catering to the needs of teachers 
is rapidly increasing. Many leading universities and 
colleges offer vacation courses in theory and practice; 
but of greatest interest to rural teachers are the short-term 
courses very generally offered in normal schools. Several 



76 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

have added excellent model schools, where rural teachers 
may be imbued with the spirit of how modern rural life 
must be lived. Nature study, garden culture, elementary 
agriculture, art, and even manual training are taught in a 
direct and practical way. Annually many a teacher enters 
the professional ranks by way of the summer schools. 

Teachers' Institutes. — The first teachers' institute, so 
far as has been recorded, was held in Hartford, Con- 
necticut, in 1839, by the great schoolman Henry Barnard. 
Twenty-six young men attended a six weeks' session. 
J. S. Denman, superintendent of schools for Tompkins 
County, New York, held a teachers' meeting in 1840 
which was the first time the name " institute " was used. 
Horace Mann seized upon the idea and made it popular 
in Massachusetts and elsewhere. In our day very many 
states provide by law for the holding of such institutes 
in one form or another. They vary in length of time from 
a few days to a number of weeks; the longer ones being, 
strictly speaking, summer schools under the control of 
state departments of education. Teachers' institutes are 
dominated by the teaching spirit, as most of those in at- 
tendance are themselves teachers. This contact with 
able instructors and co-workers from the rural districts 
does the teacher a world of good. Opportunities are 
offered for study both of an academic and a professional 
nature; here, too, he may become acquainted with the 
latest movements in rural school education. 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 77 

Nebraska Junior Normal Schools. — A type of vaca- 
tion school which partakes alike of the peculiarities of the 
regular normal school and the teachers' institute is the so- 
called Nebraska Junior Normal School. It is a successful 
attempt to bring the normal school right to the doors of 
the rural population. Eight such schools have been estab- 
lished at strategic points throughout the state, where they 
reach many teachers and would-be teachers, living outside 
the sphere of influence of the regular state normal schools 
located at Peru and Kearney. In a measure, too, they 
become feeders for the latter. The annual term of in- 
struction is " not less than six nor more than eight weeks.' 
The average size of the teaching corps is nine members. 
The work is comprehensive and includes a strong course 
in agriculture. A special feature of the junior normal 
is the model rural school which, under the law, is main- 
tained for a specified time in charge of an experienced 
practice teacher. 

State Superintendent J. B. Aswell on Institutes and 
Summer Schools. — Other states are following various 
plans in summer school and institute work. And every- 
where is it fraught with importance for rural school prog- 
ress. State Superintendent J. B. Aswell, of Louisiana, who 
has had remarkable success in his teachers' institutes and 
summer schools has this to say of their educational value: — 

Much of the educational enthusiasm now stirring the people 
of Louisiana is traceable to the stimulus given through the in- 



78 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

stitutes and summer schools. Earnest efforts for better teachers, 
higher salaries, longer terms, and new schoolhouses were organized 
in these meetings of the teachers. This spirit was carried to the 
people of the various communities, and the educational sentiment 
was crystallized into money which made possible the needed improve- 
ments. 

Teachers' Meetings. — The rural teacher who wishes 
to keep abreast of the profession must be faithful in at- 
tendance at all county and local educational meetings. 
The wise teacher will go even farther than this and spend 
some of his hard-earned money in trips to the annual state 
and state district meetings. It is money well invested and 
results in better teaching, and to the teacher, in better 
professional ranking. 

The county and local meetings may be made a source 
of enthusiasm and inspiration to the teacher. New meth- 
ods are considered, local difficulties are discussed, and pro- 
fessional spirit is aroused or permanently strengthened. 

No teacher can continue as a truly successful teacher who 
neglects to keep up his professional reading. It is just as 
unreasonable for a teacher to expect this as it would be for 
a physician or a lawyer to hope to keep abreast of his 
profession without following carefully the latest periodi- 
cal output in his respective profession. Let every rural 
teacher, therefore, read several teachers' journals of state 
and national repute. 

Reading Circles. — Then there is the teachers' reading 
circle. And for many rural teachers this is the only pro- 




Interior of Country Training School, Western Illinois State Normal School, 
at Macomb. 




Mode of conveying normal school students to the above training schooi, 
which lies one and one-half miles west of the normal school. 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 79 

fessional reading available of a practical nature. Thor- 
oughly organized and rightly managed, it is the source of a 
world of good. The circle is usually under the control of 
the state superintendent and a board of managers who 
arrange the annual course of study and have general over- 
sight of the work. Local circles are managed by the county 
superintendent, who becomes, in a great measure, respon- 
sible for the success or failure of the work. There must be 
definite system in the readings. The meetings must be 
regular, the reviews emphatic, the aim in view absolute. 

Such are a few of the agencies placed at the disposition 
of rural teachers. Let us now revert to the main question 
— the training of new rural teachers. This necessitates a 
brief discussion of the following types of institutions: 
(1) state normal schools, (2) county training schools, 
(3) high schools offering normal courses. 

State Normal Schools and Rural Teachers. — How to 
provide trained teachers for the rural districts is a question 
of much moment. The state normal schools should in 
theory, at least, furnish trained teachers for all schools. 
Practically, however, they have been unable to do so. 
The demand for trained teachers in the city and village 
schools has been such as to give lucrative positions to all 
normal-trained teachers. The normal schools have con- 
sumed their energies in this line of work and have had 
little time to consider rural needs. Indeed, their very 
courses of study are fashioned to this end. 



80 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOI 

The N.E.A. Normal School Report, Page 29. — But if 

a majority of the normal schools as now constituted have 
not been of any great material help to rural teachers, 
the reason can be found in the demand for city teachers. 
The normals have only adapted their courses to prevailing 
demands. Now that the educational ideals are beginning 
to change, we may expect the normal schools to be prompt 
in their response. The N.E.A. Committee on Normal 
Schools comments on the adaptability of these schools in 
the following language: — 

The changes that have come to the possibilities and needs have 
always found the normal school ready to adapt itself to the new con- 
ditions. The normal school has been so near the public thought all 
this time that it is more nearly to-day an actual exponent of public 
sentiment than any other public institution of equivalent magnitude. 
It is specially sensitive to public demand, and sincerely endeavors to 
do for the people what is assumed to be essential to prepare teachers 
for the public schools. 

Right now, with public sentiment in favor of rural uplift 
and industrial education in these communities, it is inter- 
esting to see how readily the normal schools take to the 
changed or changing conditions. There is a marked 
desire to be of use, to be of real value to the masses of our 
nation; to help in doing the most to make all members 
of our great commonwealth worthy, efficient citizens. 

Rural Model Schools in State Normals. — As a matter 
of fact, in normal schools, especially in the Middle West 
and in the younger states, the demand for rural trained 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 8l 



9 1 


BASEMENT 

PRESSURE 
TANK 

AND 

FORCE 
PUMP 


Im,: 

■ Air • 

I base 

FOR 

mk FLUES ■ • 







FlG. i. — Foundation plan of model rural school at the State Normal School, 
Kirksville, Missouri. Outside measurement 36 by 28 feet. Pressure 
tank and force pump supplies all water for toilets, etc. 



f* "PoJ^o 



\ GIRL'S I 

X Toilet Ol 



/boys 
Toilet 




REAR 



FURNACE 



Ground Glass J 
Tor Flowers' 



Smoke 
Fire Place 
Ventilator 



Cupboaro 




School Room rr-tWT-? 



fRONT 



Fig. 2. — Floor plan of Kirksville model rural school. Indoor toilets can be 
added to any rural school, having a good water supply, at an extra 
cost of $350. 

G 



82 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



teachers is already in a fair way to be met. Model rural 
schools have been established in conjunction with the state 
normal schools at Terre Haute, Indiana, Macomb, Illi- 
nois, Kirksville, Missouri, Hays City, Kansas, and many 



A-Ooor to Ols Ha.11 

BOoor to Boys Hau 

CDoorto Main Hall 

O-MAfujflLTRAirmsc 

C-WashBO'-'l 

L-Lauatory 

M-FloorQraj: 



VNC-Wa'cOuCC 
rP-FoRccPuMP 

H-f^fATfRHtATfR 

N-Soil Pipe 
CG-Concrhe 

P'SlPHW 

S- Sti-w 




SH- Stairway 
SF-SnonfFiut 
HB-VNork Bencm 
SB- Stone or Bricx 
VF -Ventilating Flue, 

Fig. 3. — Section of Kirksville model rural school. 



other states. At Kirksville the model school building was 
" designed and constructed to show that a rural school in 
any part of Missouri can, for the investment of about $350 
in addition to the ordinary cost of a good building, have all 
the conveniences and comforts that can be secured in any 
city building in the state " (see chapter on Rural School 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 8$ 

Architecture). It was designed as a model rural school 
and not as a mere practice school. Children are success- 
fully transported by covered wagon to and from this school 
to-day. Students of the normal who expect to teach in 
country districts learn here through daily observation 
" the best things which a school board and a good teacher 
with the best facilities can do in and for a rural school." 

The model schools at Terre Haute and Macomb are 
both located in the country and under the most ideal en- 
vironment. Most competent critic teachers are employed, 
under whose supervision rural teachers receive the rural 
school inspiration before ever having put foot on the thresh- 
old of a real country school. The establishment of model 
rural schools as adjuncts to all state normal schools, es- 
pecially in agricultural states, would do a great deal to 
hasten the day of rural school emancipation. 

Agriculture in the State Normals. — Courses in agri- 
culture, which were formerly mere adjuncts to natural 
science teaching, are now offered in many normal schools. 
In Georgia, for example, no one can graduate from the 
state normal school who does not complete the prescribed 
work in agriculture. In Nebraska conditions seem just 
as promising. The Nebraska State Board of Education 
has this to say about teaching agriculture in the state 
normal schools: — 

We are teaching it. Not just nature study dubbed agriculture, 
but really the elements of agriculture with a definite object and 



84 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

specific aim in view. Thus we are meeting the imperative demand 
from the rural communities for teachers trained along these lines. 
We will send forth teachers that will be able to bring this great sub- 
ject very close to the people who need it most. It was a little senti- 
mental at first, but it has grown marvelously, until we are beginning 
to realize in our state the practical value of this kind of teaching. 
We are not for one moment aping the great agricultural college con- 
nected with our splendid state university, but our course of instruction 
in the normal school is practical and will prepare the teacher in the 
work of agriculture as it will be taught in the public schools of our 
state. 

A Summary of what the State Normals are doing for 
Agriculture Teaching. — Professor E. E. Balcomb, of 
Weathersford, Oklahoma, read an instructive paper before 
the N.E.A. at Los Angeles, in 1907, entitled: " What 
has been done by Normal Schools and Agricultural 
Colleges for Popular Education in Agriculture." The 
paper embodies the results of a careful investigation into 
the present status of these schools and sheds new light on 
the remarkable progress made in the preparation of teach- 
ers of agriculture. It reads in part : — 

Of the ninety-one state normal schools from which information 
was received, seventy-five believe in instruction in agriculture, and 
are either giving it in some form or desire to do so. Of the sixteen 
not so expressing themselves, nine give good reasons, four give no 
reasons at all, and only three express themselves as questioning the 
course or being opposed to it. 

A summary of Mr. Balcomb's paper shows that sixty-, 
one state normal schools are actually offering the courses, 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 85 

or have made plans to begin next year. Seven of the 
schools are giving a little agriculture in connection with 
science courses, nature study, and school gardens, but are 
preparing for more definite work. Eight others are doing 
considerable work in connection with school gardens and 
are planning to extend the work. The remaining forty- 
six are teaching the elements of agriculture in a more defi- 
nite way. The work of all is interesting and inspiring. 

Yet, after all that has been said above about the rural 
school movement in normal schools, we must not be- 
come oversanguine as to any great assistance from that 
quarter. Their chief work will continue to be to furnish 
our cities and villages with superintendents, principals, 
and teachers of every grade. Let the rural districts look 
nearer home for their supply. Let them establish schools 
especially and solely designed to train rural teachers; or, 
where this is not yet feasible, add training classes and 
normal classes to county and other high schools. This, 
we believe, is the true solution of the problem. 

County Training Schools in Wisconsin. — Wisconsin is 
not only the pioneer in this field, but the state has without 
doubt developed the best training schools for rural teachers 
now to be found in our country. Sixteen of these institu- 
tions have been organized and applications are on file from 
several counties anxious to do likewise. Their one aim 
is to give " special instruction in the common school 
branches, and in the management of rural schools, to per- 



86 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

sons preparing for rural school work." Here is the vital 
point — to take the teaching material from the rural dis- 
tricts to which the teaching product is again returned. 
The course of study is two years, and is as comprehensive 
as present rural conditions will permit. 

The course which is given below is one of the uniform 
county courses and will give some idea of the subject- 
matter taught : — 

First Year 
First Quarter: Third Quarter: 

Algebra Algebra 

Agriculture English History 

Grammar Primary Constructive 

Primary Reading and Work 

Orthoepy Expressive Reading 

Second Quarter: Fourth Quarter: 

Algebra Arithmetic 

Political Geography United States History 

Composition Spelling and Penmanship 

Expressive Reading Literary Reading 

Second Year of the Two-year Course, or the One-year 
Course for those prepared to take it 

First Quarter: Third Quarter: 

Arithmetic United States History 

Drawing Composition 

Reading and Orthoepy Literature 

Physical Geography Psychology 

Psychology and Pedagogy Practice Teaching 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 87 

Second Quarter: Fourth Quarter: 

Arithmetic United States History 

Grammar Constitutions 

Literature School Management and 

Methods Spelling 

Practice Teaching 

State Superintendent C. P. Cary on the Wisconsin 
Training School. — The influence of the Wisconsin Train- 
ing School on rural life is most admirably expressed by 
State Superintendent C. P. Cary, who says : — 

The county training schools are special institutions designed to 
meet a special and hitherto unmet need. The teachers in the country 
schools, prior to the establishment of the county training schools, were 
not receiving training directly designed to prepare them for their 
chosen work. They gained their knowledge of the rural schools by 
painful and often costly experience. They became teachers at the 
expense of their pupils and of the taxpayers who employed them. 
As a natural result the efficiency of the district schools was on the 
decline. It was high time that the lawmakers and educators of the 
state directed their attention to the relief of this highly important 
branch of the educational service of the state. The establishment 
of the county training schools has done much toward the placing of 
the rural schools in a healthy growing condition. In counties where 
the county training schools have been established, new interest has 
been aroused in all matters pertaining to rural school education. The 
very fact that taxpayers and members of the county board have had 
to provide means for carrying on this work has called their attention 
directly to the importance of securing the best possible instruction 
for the children in rural communities. The "little red schoolhouse" 
is again coming into prominence, and is once more a place about 
which the interest of the people of the districts center. 



88 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

County Normal Training Classes in Michigan. — Mich- 
igan has adopted a system of county normal training 
classes which promises much for better rural schools. 
The law provides that such classes may be organized as 
adjuncts to already existing schools. A special teacher, 
competent to instruct in the professional subjects, is 
placed in charge of the work. He receives assistance 
from the other teachers of the school where the class is 
organized. All expense in maintaining the class is borne 
by the state. Up to the year 1906-1907 thirty-two train- 
ing classes had been organized, with a present attendance 
of 500. Moreover, nearly 700 graduates have already 
gone forth to spread the gospel of the new education. "I 
consider the establishment of the county training class 
one of the greatest steps educationally that has been 
taken in Michigan in recent years," says State Superin- 
tendent Patrick H. Kelley. " Trained teachers are go- 
ing into schools that heretofore could not get them, and 
the improvement of the teaching force of the state is one 
of the most vital matters in connection with our educa- 
tional system." 

We now come to the more general discussion of normal 
training in high schools. 

Training Classes in New York High Schools. — The 
very earliest professional training of teachers in our 
country was done in New York State under the legislative 
enactment of 1834. It provided for the establishment of 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 89 

eight academies where common school teachers could be 
trained. The schools designated in the act received 
$500 for books and equipment, and, besides, an annual 
appropriation of $400 for maintenance. In these acade- 
mies we find the origin of teachers' training classes, which 
are likely to continue for some time the chief source of 
supply for trained rural teachers. These private academies 
became public high schools, preserving their early granted 
normal privileges. At the present there are 113 such 
training classes, one for each school commissioner district. 
They are under the absolute jurisdiction of the state 
department of education, and form separate and distinct 
departments in the high school where they are maintained. 
To get and retain a training school the local board of edu- 
cation must fulfill certain specific requirements in regard 
to qualifications of special instructor offered, and salary 
to be paid him; practicability of training department 
placed at disposal of class; opportunities provided the 
class for observation and practice teaching, etc. 

Aside from thorough drill in the academic subjects, the 
training classes have ample opportunity to observe expert 
teaching in the grades and partake in practice teaching 
under expert critics. Students who pass their final ex- 
aminations receive convertible three-year certificates to 
teach. At present nearly 1200 trained teachers annually 
graduate from the New York training classes and enter 
upon rural school work. As a result incompetent teachers 



90 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

are being driven out, educational standards and ideals 
are raised, and the new teachers are beginning to receive 
a compensation commensurate with their preparation and 
worth. 

Other States which maintain High School Training 
Classes. — Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, and Vermont 
are other states giving normal training in high schools 
a legal status. The first two states have but recently 
organized training classes on lines similar to the New 
York plan explained above, and have now in the schools 
many hundred young people preparing for rural teaching. 
Both states have adopted excellent courses of study con- 
taining a liberal amount of instruction in the professional 
subjects, including observation work, and, in Nebraska, 
the elements of agriculture. Kansas also grants an an- 
nual aid to its accredited high schools of a sum not to 
exceed $500. Minnesota and Vermont have offered 
normal instruction in high schools for some years; but 
unfortunately the instruction has usually been subordi- 
nated to the other high school courses, and treated as a 
side issue. As could be expected, the results have not 
been very gratifying. Such other states as may in the 
future plan to give normal training in high schools should 
invariably adopt the plan of separate and distinct normal 
departments in every respect coordinate with the other 
high school departments, and responsible to the state 
superintendent and his inspectors. 



THE RURAL SCHOOL TEACHER — HIS TRAINING 91 

There is strong feeling in educational circles against a 
normal invasion of secondary schools. This is not without 
foundation. And yet we must have these teachers for 
the rural districts. The 11,200,756 boys and girls there 
have rights, too. Then, last but not least, it is already 
proved that the teachers trained under the high school 
acts go on and get more training after they have spent 
some years successfully as rural teachers. It will ulti- 
mately cause more of our young people to attend normal 
schools, colleges, and universities than any other known 
expedient. 

This much for the training of rural school teachers; 
now the matter of adequate compensation. 



CHAPTER VI 
Salaries and Tenure of Rural Teachers 

General Statement. — All thinking persons will agree 
that the permanence of democratic institutions depends 
solely upon public school education. The greatness of 
any nation is measured in the light of the thoroughness and 
vitality of its educational institutions, which can neither 
be greater nor better than the teachers who are the potent 
factors in fashioning and promoting these institutions. 
Any nation which undervalues the importance of the teach- 
ing profession and fails to give it adequate support and 
social recognition undermines its own national vitality. 
The greatest and most progressive nations in the world 
have the best school organizations, and they recognize 
the teaching fraternity by placing the teachers above 
pecuniary want and by granting them superior social 
recognition in the community. 

In face of such statements as the above, Americans who 
love their country have every reason to feel profoundly 
moved. We may be optimistic enough to believe that the 
time shall never come, as some prophets of ill omen have 
ventured, that our public school will be nothing but "a 

92 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 93 

weak, inefficient make-believe, where senseless ' isms ' 
and shoddy work will predominate"; but, at the same 
time we are not so blind as not to see that, in many re- 
spects, school conditions with us are not on a parity with 
existing conditions in leading European countries. It is 
particularly true that the American people has failed to 
give its educators the adequate pecuniary support and 
social recognition commensurate with their services. 

To consider the salary question: — 

Compensation of European and American Teachers Com- 
pared. — As a first step, let us compare European and 
American teachers. The following table gives the average 
annual salaries paid male and female teachers in four 
leading countries according to the latest available 
figures: — 

England and Wales (elementary only) $570 per annum 

Germany (elementary only) .... 388 per annum 

Austria (elementary only) .... 372 per annum 

Holland (elementary only) .... 368 per annum 

To make the table a just basis for comparison we must 
keep in mind : — 

(1) The greater purchasing power of the European equiv- 

alent of American money; 

(2) The enjoyment in Europe generally of free house and 

grounds, fuel, light, etc.; 

(3) The granting of certain perquisites where the teacher 

acts as church chorister, etc.; 

(4) The European system of teachers' pensions; 

(5) The tenure of office during life or good behavior; 

(6) Finally, the teachers' prominent social standing. 



94 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



Now, in comparison, consider the following table, which 
gives the average monthly salaries paid elementary and 
secondary teachers in the United States. 

The figures are from the report of United States Com- 
missioner of Education Elmer E. Brown, for 1906: — 



Table i 





Men 


Women 


All 




2 


3 


4 




$56.31 


$43-8o 


$50.04 


North Atlantic Division . . . 
South Atlantic Division . . . 
South Central Division . . . 
North Central Division . 
Western Division 


64-95 
44-35 
46.35 
57-99 
72.30 


44.11 

33-54 
38.10 

44-17 
57-o9 


61.69 
36.26 

4I-50 
49.08 
59.18 



Conclusion Drawn. — The average salary for all in the 
United States is $50.04 per month. This when multiplied 
by 7.5 months (our school year for 1906- 1907 was, to be 
exact, 150.6 days) gives a salary for the nation of just 
$375.30. When we consider that these figures include the 
salaries of superintendents, principals, and other teachers in 
9560 high schools, public and private, bearing in mind as 
we do so that his salary is all the compensation he gets, — 
barring the sentimental, — the conclusion drawn is that 
the American teacher is paid very much less than teachers 
elsewhere in the civilized world. 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 95 

Now study Table 2 : — 

Table 2 



Country 



United States 
England and Wales 
Scotland . . . 

Italy 

Ireland .... 
France .... 
Finland . . . 
Norway ... 
Russia .... 
Switzerland . . 
Sweden .... 
Denmark . . . 
Austria .... 
Hungary . . 
Germany ... 



Teachers in 1906 



Men 



Women 



09,179 


356,884 


26,200 


66,300 


4,000 


7,000 


18,600 


31,800 


6,000 


7,000 


56,370 


49,400 


1,500 


1,170 


3,852 


2,234 


38,700 


22,400 


6,400 


3,600 


4,922 


2,649 


4,500 


20,000 


51,500 


20,000 


26.-365 


5,938 


24,027 


22,513 



Per Cent 



Women 



76.4 

71-5 
63.6 
63.0 
53-8 
46.7 
44.0 
38.0 
36.0 
36.0 
35-o 
28.0 
28.0 
18.4 
15-4 



The table conveys the startling intelligence that the 
United States employs a very much larger per cent of 
women teachers than do European countries. More than 
three fourths of all our teachers are women. 

Reasons for Better Salaries in Europe. — Now we are 
ready to seek the cause, to ask the reason why European 
countries pay better salaries and why they retain a much 
larger percentage of men in the teaching profession than 
we are able to do. In Europe teaching is as much a pro- 
fession as is law or medicine or theology. Every teacher 



g6 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

is a professional teacher. No one may teach who has not 
completed a strict training course and passed a searching 
examination. The state has trained him, and it now puts 
him in a position to make a comfortable living for himself 
and his family. Every hamlet and city feels keenly that 
education is absolutely essential to success in life. After 
Napoleon had left Prussia prostrate at Jena its school- 
masters put the state on its feet again and in time pushed it 
to leadership in the empire. Since the disastrous war with 
Prussia and Austria, in 1864, little Denmark has more 
than regained in population and wealth what was lost in 
that disaster, chiefly through its schoolmasters, who have 
been indefatigable in the educational campaigns which 
have placed the kingdom in the forefront of nations intel- 
lectually and industrially. It is little wonder that teachers 
have a superior social ranking in such countries. Scholar- 
ship is respected and reverenced alike by high and low; 
all classes look up to the teaching fraternity because of its 
importance to the State. 

To recapitulate: Teaching is a profession in leading 
countries of Europe; none may teach there who is not pro- 
fessionally prepared. Teaching is for significant reasons 
held in high esteem. Teachers accordingly receive salaries 
commensurate with time and expense of preparation and 
dignity of position. 

Salaries of Teachers and Other Workers Compared. — 
The comparative salary argument is not the highest argu- 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 



97 



ment which may be used for increasing teachers' salaries; 
but it does answer the purpose we have in mind — viz. 
to emphasize in glaring reality how poorly teachers are 
paid in comparison with public workers generally. We 
have already seen that the latest report of the Commis- 
sioner of Education places the average annual salary for 
all teachers in our public schools at $375.30. Reports 
for thirty cities in every part of the country place the 
average annual salary for ordinary street laborers at 
$512.45, which is $137.15 more than the average for all 
teachers in the United States. 

Table 3 





Av. Wages 
St. Laborers 


MOLDERS' 

Min. Wage 


Elem. Teacher 
Min. Salary 


Cincinnati 

Cleveland 

Minneapolis 

New Haven 

New Orleans 

Peoria 

Philadelphia 

Pittsburg 

Racine 

St. Louis 

St. Paul 


$603.00 
493-50 
480.00 
555-oo 
534-oo 
481.00 
480.00 
5°3-oo 
525-00 
450.00 
450.00 
450.00 
697.50 


$825.00 
960.00 
900.00 
864.00 
825.00 
900.00 
900.00 
870.00 
900.00 
855.00 
864.00 
864.00 

1050.00 


$552.00 
400.00 
475.00 
450.00 
300.00 
3i5-oo 
350.00 
470.00 
350.00 
325.00 
400.00 
400.00 
55 -°° 




$528.87 


$901.70 


$429-13 



9 8 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



Table 3 illustrates this point further. It compares 
the annual earnings of street laborers and laborers in job- 
bing and machine foundries with elementary teachers 
in fifteen cities of the United States. The comparison 
speaks for itself. 

Table 4 



Section 


Black- 
smiths 


Carpen- 
ters 


1 Fore- 
men 


Paint- 
ers 


Machin- 
ists 


• 


Men 
T'ch'rs 


New England . . 


$67.17 


$58.33 


$82.53 


$73-66 


$58.50 


$49.83 


$57-75 


Middle States . . 


65.00 


56-33 


97-50 


52.00 


60.66 


45-50 


50.10 


Southern States 


71-5° 


56-33 


91.00 




58.50 


45-5o 


49-32 


Central States . . 


71-5° 


56-33 


91.00 




58.5o 


45-5o 


49-32 


Pacific States . . 


80.16 








78.00 


60.66 


62.36 


Average . . . 


$69.76 


$55-75 


$90.27 


$62.83 


$63.26 


$48.62 


$48.77 



The above table, taken from the Ninth Biennial 
Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of 
North Dakota, is based on figures from the 1900 U. S. 
Census Report and deals with the subject by sections of 
the country. 

The table on the opposite page is reproduced, by per- 
mission, from the Third Annual Report of the Education 
Department of New York State. It compares in a graphic 
way the average annual compensation of male assistants 
in secondary schools outside the cities and organized wage 
workers throughout the state. 



: Foremen in machine shops. 

1 All other occupations, including those in which women are engaged. 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 



99 



A teacher has to spend much time and money in prepara- 
tion for his work, and yet in the largest and one of the 
most progressive states in the country brewery employees 
actually earn a better living than he. The same is the 
case universally, it seems. 

Table 5 



1 HUNDREDS 5 1Q 


Dollars 
MEN ASSISTANTS 716.95 

BREWERY 
EMPLOYEES 722.28 

COOPERS 725.04 

PAINTERS & 
DECORATORS 750.38 

R. R. TRAINMEN 784.40 
ELECTRICAL 
WORKERS 799.50 

IRON MOULDERS 844.74 

BOILERMAKERS 847.12 

COMPOSITORS 882.20 

R. R. FIREMEN 892.52 

CARPENTERS & 

JOINERS 901.62 

STONECUTTERS 917.44 

PAPER HANGERS 921.00 

LETTER CARRIERS 923.78 
ROOFERS & SHEET 
METALWORKERS 948.64 

































































































































































































Salaries paid Rural Teachers in Various Parts of the 
Country. — Let us now turn our attention more partic- 



IOO THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

ularly to salaries paid in rural schools. So little attention 
has been paid to this feature of school maintenance that 
figures are hard to get and are more or less unreliable. 
Despite this we have ventured to compile Table 6, 
which will give the reader some idea of the subject. The 
states are picked at random, two from each of the five 
geographical divisions of the United States. The length 
of school year and monthly and annual salaries are given. 
It appears from the table that the extreme East makes the 
poorest showing, which is explainable in the rapid disin- 
tegration of rural population in those parts and in the rapid 
growth of cities. This leaves many depleted and impover- 
ished districts with scarcely a handful of pupils. Nothing 
but starvation salaries can be paid in such communities. 
The salvation of these small schools assuredly lies in con- 
solidation. The Western division shows up to best advan- 
tage; but it should be remembered, too, that living expenses 
are somewhat higher in the West. Of course the aver- 
ages for the United States as set forth in the table are not 
final, since only ten states are considered; but the figures 
are not far from correct and will answer our purpose well 
enough. 

We pay rural teachers throughout the United States on 
an average less than $300 per annum! Think of it! we 
expect these underpaid men and women whose best ener- 
gies are consumed with the bread and butter problem, 
whose freshness and vitality early become blighted at the 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS IOI 

prospect of the barren future opening out before them — 
we expect them to give, to impart, all the best that they 
have in them to our school children ! We certainly expect 
much, and as a recompense, as a salarium, we give — 
$296.93! Fortunately, it may be said in justice to thou- 
sands of patient, conscientious rural teachers that the 
average school board receives much more than it pays for. 



Table 6 



Division 


State 


Average 

Number of 

School 

Months 


Average 

Monthly 

Salary 


Average 
Yearly 
Salary 


North Atlantic . 

South Atlantic . 

South Central 

North Central . 

Western . . . 
United States 


Maine .... 
Vermont 

Maryland . . . 
North Carolina . 
Louisiana . . . 
Texas .... 
Minnesota . 
Indiana .... 
Colorado . . 
California . 


6.25 

7-4 

9-3 

4-3 

7.0 

5-° 
7.0 

7-i 
6-5 
8-5 
6.84 


$24.00 
26.00 
35.6o 
30.24 
42.89 
50-54 
43-63 
48.46 

53-52 
72-35 

$42.72 


$150.01 
192.40 
33 I -°8 
130.03 
300.23 . 
253-i6 
305-41 
344.08 
347.88 
614.98 

$296.93 





How the Rural Teacher makes Ends Meet. — It is often 
a puzzle to know just how these teachers can make ends 
meet. Take the New England teacher, for example, she 
who receives the princely salary of $196.65 per annum, 
a sum which is considerably less than that paid her sister 
drudge at the cotton mills. She must make a respectable 



102 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

showing, be public-spirited and open-handed, and dress 
well. How does she do it? 

In Kansas women teachers in the rural schools get an 
average of $40 per month for a school term of six and one 
half months, which gives them an annual income of $260. 
Miss A. is one of these teachers. She has kept accurate 
account of income and outlay. This annual budget, as 
she is pleased to call it, appears below, with her permission. 
Her school, however, is considerably above the average 
for the state and nation. Others fare much worse than 
she. 

Miss A. is one of the really good teachers in Atchison county, 
Kansas. She teaches in what is termed a good district. The fol- 
lowing is an honest account of her finances and time for the school 
year 1907-1908: — 

Income (8 months at $40) $320.00 

Cost of Board and Lodging $ 96.00 

Dress 68.45 

Institute Expenses (4 weeks) i5-8o 

Reading Circle Books 2.12 

School Journals 2.80 

Car fare — Teachers' Meetings 7.25 

Other "Self -improvements" (books and 3 

theater tickets) 5-75 

Necessary Incidentals u-43 

$209.60 209.60 

Balance $110.40 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 103 



Total Vacation 

Christmas Holidays 2 weeks 

Attended Institute during June . 4 weeks 

Rested after Strain of 8 months . 2 weeks 

Did the Winter's Sewing .... 2 weeks 



16 weeks 



10 weeks 10 weeks 



Clerked in Department Store 6 weeks 

Drew from Savings for Summer Living Expenses, $21.45 



Bal. at end of School Year 



$88.95 



There are those who allege that we cannot as a nation 
afford to pay larger salaries than we do at present. Look 
at these figures, they represent some of our actual annual 
expenditures : — 

Alcoholic Beverages $1,610,000,000 

National Government Appropriations for 1908 . . 1,000,000,000 

Beer 853,000,000 

Tobacco 800,000,000 

National Education 310,000,000 

Army and Navy, Running Expenses 200,000,000 

Pensions to Old Soldiers 142,000,000 

Wine 106,000,000 

Or arrange three of these more graphically thus: — 



PUBLIC EDUCATION. 



TOBACCO 



INTOXICATING LIQUORS. 



310,000,000 

800,000,000 

1,610,000,000 



. iV 



104 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Education Bill vs. Drink and Smoke Bill. — As a nation 
we are rich beyond the wildest dreams of a Midas. Con- 
servative statistics place our national wealth (1906) at 
$100,000,000,000, — a figure too large for human com- 
prehension, — with an income of $24,000,000,000. Of 
this vast sum we actually drink up annually $1,610,000,000, 
or about $1 in every 1 5 produced. In the same way we 
burn up in tobacco, including cigarettes, $800,000,000, or 
$1 in every 30 produced. But we spend during the same 
period only $310,000,000 for national education, or $1 in 
every 78 produced. The per capita expenditure for the 
items is: — 

Intoxicating Liquors $19.10 

Tobacco 9.49 

Public Education 3.67 

In face of these figures we all know that we can easily 
spend more for national education. If we were wise, we 
would invest our annual expense column and spend for 
education the $19.10 per capita which we now drink up. 
Then in a short while our national surplus would mount 
up into billions upon billions of dollars. The nation gets 
back a hundred fold, yes, many hundred fold, the amount 
invested in education, — and in teachers' salaries, — and 
it gets it back not alone in wealth, but in that which is 
much better, and which cannot be reckoned in terms of 
dollars and cents, viz. culture and morality, wisdom and 
happiness. 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 105 

Low Rural Taxation. — Now, how about rural expen- 
diture? Are the rural child and the rural teacher getting 
a square deal ? Do rates of taxation as levied in the coun- 
try compare favorably with the rates for villages and cities ? 
The answer comes: The rural districts where teachers 
are paid the poorest levy much lower rates upon a much 
greater taxable wealth than do villages and cities. 

Let us illustrate this by a series of diagrams. The first 
one gives the total rural and city school enrollment of 
children : — 

Rural 11,200,757 (67-3 per cent) 

City 5,441,214(32.7 percent) 

The second diagram gives the total annual expenditure 
for school purposes in the two classes of schools : — 

Rural $140,242, 7Q5 (45.6 per cent) 

City 167,522,864 (54.4 per cent) 

Next we have the total amount invested for school pur- 
poses : — 

Rural $254,134,181 (32.4 per cent) 

City 528,993,959 (67.6 per cent) 

Finally, most striking of all, the amount annually ex- 
pended for the education of each child, rural and city: — 

Rural $12.52 

City 30.78 

Superintendent 0. J. Kern, on Rural School Mainte- 
nance. — The World's Work recently sent the following 



106 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

inquiry to a number of distinguished educators: " What 
new subject or new method or new direction of effort or 
new tendency in educational work is of most value and 
significance and now needs most emphasis and encourage- 
ment? " Many striking replies were printed in the issue 
of July, 1908; one of the most suggestive is the following 
from the pen of O. J. Kern, superintendent of schools, 
Winnebago county, Illinois, and withal one of the most 
ardent advocates of the New Education in our country. 
He says : — 

The fundamental consideration is that the farmer must spend more 
money on the education of his children and must spend it in a better 
way to meet the changing conditions of country life. This proposition 
is the sine qua non in the consideration of any advance in the country 
school interest over the United States. It is the duty of educational 
leaders to demonstrate to farmers that a new educational ideal must 
obtain and that the increase of expenditure will pay. 

Superintendent Kern speaks truly. The twentieth 
century must make large demands of the farmers. The 
district school cannot continue its haphazard teaching. 
It must hereafter teach the farmer boys and girls both to 
do things and to wish to do things. This kind of 
teaching takes capable teachers, and to get them and to 
keep them in the rural districts takes better salaries and 
greatly increased taxation. 

The Law of Salary Regulation. — The law of salary 
regulation, which is of overshadowing importance to 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 107 

teachers and the public alike, and which should be under- 
stood therefore by all, may be stated thus: (1) If the 
earning capacity of teachers is not greater than the meager 
salaries they get, then the nation's life is endangered. The 
education of the American of to-morrow is too important, 
too sacred a task to intrust to persons who cannot earn 
more than an ordinary scullion or a slaughter house 
employee. (2) If the earning capacity of teachers is 
greater than the salaries they get, the teachers of great earn- 
ing capacity will gradually shift to callings where the pay 
is commensurate with their earning capacity. This shift- 
ing will continue until it reaches an equilibrium in poor 
teachers and poor salaries. In this case, too, is the nation's 
welfare endangered. In any event, the only salvation lies 
in increased salaries. 

No doubt there are many teachers in the calling who do 
not earn more than they get. On the other hand, hundreds 
of thousands of teachers have been earning vastly more 
than they have been getting. Many of the best teachers 
— especially men — are leaving the profession for more 
remunerative work, often driven to take this step against 
their own wishes by sheer want. Unless a halt is called 
the ranks will become so depleted and the quality of teach- 
ers will deteriorate to such an extent that the public school 
may become a byword and a reproach. 

The Threatened " Feminization" of the Schools. — Men 
teachers are entering other callings in such numbers as 



io8 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



to threaten the profession with feminization. The story 
of the male exodus is clearly apparent in Table 7. 

Table 7. — Number and Sex of Teachers — Percentage of 
Male Teachers 



State or Territory 


Whole Number of Dif- 
ferent Teachers 
Employed 


Percentage of Men 
Teachers 




Men 


Women 


Total 


1870- 
71 


1879- 
80 


1889- 
90 


1899- 
1900 


1905- 
6 


1 


% 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


United States 


109179 


356884 


466,063 


41.0 


42.8 


34-5 


29.9 


23.6 


North Atlantic Divi- 
sion .... 

South Atlantic Divi- 
sion .... 

North Central Divi- 
sion .... 

South Central Divi- 
sion .... 

Western Division . 


16599 
17396 

27008 

42016 
6160 


100055 

36505 
41612 

153303 
25409 


I 16654 

53901 

68620 

I953I9 
31569 


26.2 
63.8 

67-5 

43-2 
45-° 


28.8 

62.5 

67.2 

41.7 
40.3 


20.0 
49.1 

57-5 

32.4 
3" 


18.4 
40.7 

47-4 

28.3 
24.7 


14.2 

32.2 

39-3 

21.5 
19-5 



Of the whole number of teachers employed 356,884 are 
women, and only 109,179, or just 23.6 per cent, are men. 
In 1879, 42.8 per cent were men; in 1889, 34.5 per cent; 
in 1899, 29.9 per cent; and in 1905, 23.67 per cent. This 
state of affairs is almost serious enough to be classed as 
a national calamity. No one wishes to undervalue the 
immense influence of women teachers in the educational 
field. At the same time nascent manhood requires the in- 
fluence of and contact with masculine teachers. Professor 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 109 

Miinsterberg, of Harvard, can see nothing but disaster 
come from our peculiar dilemma. The influence of 
women teachers on the male youth, he believes, is such as 
to feminize him in a startling degree. He says in part : — 

The immediate outcome of that feminine mental type is woman's 
tact, aesthetic feeling, her instinctive insight, her enthusiasm, her 
sympathy, her natural wisdom and morality; but on the other side, 
also, her lack of clearness and logical consistency, her tendency to 
hasty generalization, her mixing of principles, her undervaluation of 
the abstract and of the absent, her lack of deliberation, her readiness 
to follow her emotions. Even these defects can beautify the private 
life, can make our social surroundings attractive, and soften and 
complete the strenuous, earnest, and consistent public activity of 
the man; but they do not give the power to meet these public duties 
without man's harder logic. If the whole national civilization should 
receive the feminine stamp, it would become powerless, and without 
decisive influence on the world's progress. 

At the outset we showed that the reason why Europe 
has better schools and pays teachers better than we do in 
the United States lies (i) in higher professional require- 
ments, and (2) in stronger popular appreciation of the 
teacher's services and calling. The reason why we do so 
poorly by our teachers is evidently our failure to appre- 
ciate these salient points. 

Teaching must become a Profession. — Teaching must 
become a profession in the United States the same as law, 
medicine, and theology. Perhaps it may be considered 
such already, in theory. There certainly is a science of 



IIO THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

teaching, since educational principles have long been 
formulated and classified. Teaching has created its own 
pedagogical literature. Likewise, provision has been made 
for its study as a science and an art. The lines are being 
drawn closer all the time. Teachers, like other pro- 
fessions, are organizing into associations for the pur- 
pose of protecting their interests and advancing their 
profession. 

But if we are willing to consider teaching a profession 
theoretically, in actual practice it can scarcely be dignified 
with the name. We have some professional teachers, it 
is true, though, unfortunately, the vast majority are to all 
practical purposes untrained. Here is the mischief. 
Lawyers and physicians hedge themselves about with 
restrictions and laws which in effect exclude quackery 
and make-believe from their respective fields. Teachers 
have not been insistent enough in demanding higher stand- 
ards of preparation; and certain it is that teaching will 
not become a profession in practice until it ceases to be a 
temporary makeshift and stepping-stone to something 
better. The standards must be raised. The individual 
teacher must get a stronger grasp on the professional sub- 
jects; he must study education in its historical setting and 
in relation to present social conditions. He must, in short, 
put himself abreast of the times; he must himself have, 
and be ready to give others, the broader knowledge es- 
sential in a democracy such as ours. 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS III 

Some states, we are rejoiced to know, have already 
taken advanced ground in the matter of professional re- 
quirements of their teachers. Thus, in one state in the 
Middle West no one may teach in the public schools — city 
or rural — who has not had at least twenty weeks' profes- 
sional training. In another state in the same section of 
the country the requirement is one year (thirty-six weeks) 
of professional work. The results have been very grati- 
fying. The indifferent, unprogressive teachers have 
already dropped by the wayside and given place to pro- 
fessional successors. At first this caused a shortage of 
teachers; but the short supply and brisk demand have 
resulted in largely increased salaries and in new vitality 
being infused into school affairs in these states. Let other 
states do as well by their teachers, and let them do it 
speedily. 

The Teacher's Social Recognition — on what it Depends. 
— It may seem almost trite to suggest a certain relation- 
ship between low salaries and inferior social recognition. 
And yet it is undeniable that with the average American 
money is a measure of success. It isn't that he cares for the 
money itself so much, but rather what it stands for. Judged 
by this criterion, the teacher's career needs the backing of 
largely increased salaries to give it a touch of respecta- 
bility and social recognition. In a people so material- 
istic as the American, it is really questionable if scholarship 
for its own sake will attain the attitude of reverence with 



112 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

which it is endowed in Europe, at any rate, for a long time 
to come. Meanwhile scholarship will continue to be 
measured by its market value — and what this shall be 
will depend greatly upon the teachers themselves. 

Enlighten the Public. — The public is not altogether 
to blame for present conditions. The teachers themselves 
have hardly realized the shameful injustice worked the 
school children in a social system which will tolerate the 
expenditure of over two billion dollars annually for intox- 
icants and tobacco, while it gives all public education only 
three hundred million. The plain duty of the teacher is 
to inform himself of the facts, and then in no uncertain 
manner launch an " educational campaign " to enlighten 
his patrons and give them no peace till they realize the 
situation and act. No apologies are necessary, for the 
cause is the best in the world. The public needs such 
enlightenment; but let them once get awake to the real- 
ization of school needs and reforms will be sure to follow. 
Indeed, the many school improvements brought about in 
certain quarters lately have all resulted from persistent, 
organized agitation by determined teachers. 

Occasionally one finds sections of the country where 
people are so lamentably unthinking and parsimonious in 
school expenditure that nothing short of law can make 
them open their pocketbooks. The state is vitally in- 
terested in the education of all its subjects. If, therefore, 
in a given community local pride or local intelligence is 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 113 

dead, it becomes the plain duty of the state to take the 
initiative and compel the unthinking community to do 
their duty by obliging them to pay a certain minimum 
salary prescribed by law. 

Enact Minimum Salary Laws. — Six states, to our knowl- 
edge, have lately placed such laws upon their statute books. 
The results have been all that the most optimistic could 
ask. Wherever the law is in operation the verdict is better 
salaries, better teachers. Indiana reports an increase of 
36.2 per cent in salaries in three years since the law went 
into operation. The minimum salary law passed by Mary- 
land in 1904 has had the effect to increase the salaries of 
1500 teachers, ranging from 5 per cent to 30 per cent, and 
in the opinion of the state superintendent " has had a most 
salutary effect." In North Dakota the state legislature 
enacted a $45 minimum salary law in 1904, which " has 
done much to bring up the scale of wages." The state 
superintendent even urges that the rate be raised to $50 
for second grade teachers. Ohio has increased her salaries 
from a monthly average of $35 to a minimum of $40. This 
means an annual increase in salary for elementary teachers 
of more than $1,000,000. Pennsylvania has not been able 
to go so far as Ohio. Her minimum is placed at $135 for 
a minimum of seven months. " The minimum salary 
law," says State Superintendent Shaeffer, " has increased 
salaries over the entire state." West Virginia, where 
salaries used to be proverbially low, has established a 



114 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

minimum scale of $35, $30, and $25 for first, second, 
and third grade certificates respectively. 

Encouraged by such reports as these, teachers' organi- 
zations in many states have begun systematic campaigns 
for better salaries. The immediate outlook for generally 
increased salaries is bright indeed. 

Before closing the chapter we must say a word about the 
teacher's tenure of office. By this we do not mean the 
number of years spent in the service as a teacher — for 
we are agreed that the professional teacher makes teaching 
his life work — but we mean the length of time spent 
as teacher in the same community. The discussion relates 
to rural teachers only. 

A Long Tenure for Rural Teachers. — It is a palpable 
fact that rural teachers seldom teach in the same district 
more than one or two terms. They are peripatetic by 
nature, almost; and like the journeyman carpenter they 
can never rest, but must ever so often pick up their kit 
and move on to new fields. Thinking people will see that 
if rural teachers are to exert a real influence in the com- 
munity where they teach and become a blessing to the 
farm child and the farm home, this pernicious practice 
must end. 

The tenure must become longer. When a district gets 
a good teacher it must pay that teacher living wages, and 
it should, if at all possible, enter upon a contract of two or 



SALARIES AND TENURE OF RURAL TEACHERS 115 

more years' duration. The ideal system would be for the 
teacher to make teaching in a given community his life 
work. Then he could become a power for good, and 
establish himself as the legitimate leader and director 
of educational and social interests for the whole country- 
side. Our country districts have no such inspirational 
heads now and are much the worse because of it. 

In Germany and Denmark, by way of illustration, rural 
teachers often spend a lifetime in a single school. Several 
generations grow up under their instruction and go forth 
from the roof tree of their school to bless these school- 
masters and to teach their children in turn to revere 
them. They are paid enough to make a fair living and 
to be free from the many economic cares which are so 
prevalent in the profession on this side of the Atlantic. It 
is important for the ultimate solution of the rural school 
problem that its friends work with might and main to the 
end that rural school tenures be greatly lengthened. 



CHAPTER VII 

Rural School Buildings: Sanitation and Archi- 
tecture 

Spiritualization of Rural Life. — A new atmosphere of 
material and spiritual thrift is gradually settling upon our 
rural communities. Pioneer life with all its attendant 
hardships and trials has come and gone. The early period 
of settlement has been succeeded by a period of develop- 
ment and growth. Life in many rural communities is 
indeed becoming " spiritualized." This manifests itself 
in untold ways. Better and more commodious houses, 
great towering barns, well-kept lawns and close-trimmed 
hedgerows, flowers, shrubs and trees — all bespeak the 
growing love for the beautiful. 

But in this march for better things, in this reaching out 
after the aesthetic and ennobling in life, the rural school has 
not kept abreast of the times. Unless it undergoes great 
changes in the near future it will surely cease to be an im- 
portant agency in rural progress. So long as the settlers 
lived in log cabins and read at night by the light of a pine 
knot or dwelt on prairie and plain in houses built of sod 
and clay, and used the accumulation from the buffalo 
haunts for fuel, log houses and sod shanties did very well 
indeed for school purposes. They were in full harmony 

116 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 117 

with the environment. But now it is otherwise. Now 
our farm homes are copying the comforts and conveniences 
of their city neighbors, except in school matters only. 

The Rural Schoolhouse of Song and Story. — In city 
and village school architecture has kept pace with the 
march of city life. Modern schoolhouses may be seen in 
every hamlet, while many cities boast veritable palaces for 
school purposes. In rural districts architecture is yet in its 
early stages. Well-equipped, modern buildings are be- 
ginning to appear in some sections of the country, we are 
rejoiced to know. But, everything considered, such evi- 
dences of progress are the exception rather than the rule. 
Communities comprising wealthy farmsteads which are 
supplied with everything that a twentieth-century civiliza- 
tion can offer in the way of convenience and luxury are 
yet largely content to get along with what they have — 
the " little red schoolhouse " of New England or the 
proverbial, rectangular box with entrance at one end and 
tumble-down chimney at the other, so familiar in the West. 
Time has dragged in rural districts since Whittier sang 
his immortal In School Days : — 

Still sits the schoolhouse by the road, 

A ragged beggar sunning; 
Around it still the sumachs grow, 

And blackberry vines are running. 

Alas ! it is with us yet, forlorn and unkempt. Weeds and 
brambles still thrive and twine in wild confusion outside, 



1 1 8 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

except where many pattering feet have worn the ground 
to dust! 

Is it not sad that communities which use excellent busi- 
ness sense in other matters refuse to see that the school 
buildings where the young are initiated into all that is 
good and beautiful and most worth living for in life must 
be in harmony with these teachings and not devoid of the 
very attributes which the teacher strives to make part of 
the child's life? Need any one be surprised that the poet 
sings of " feet that creep slow to school " when he con- 
templates the ugly, uninviting structure, wind-swept and 
forlorn, set in some fence corner, exposed to summer sun 
and winter blast, where the child must needs spend many 
hours and days and weeks for many years of his life? 
Verily, it is not surprising that many children have so little 
regard for the district school ! 

State Law to prescribe Rules for Construction of Sani- 
tary Schoolhouses. — Perhaps the most important event 
in the district's history is the planning and building of 
the new schoolhouse. Many boards and school com- 
mittees do not seem to realize the significance of this, 
so that quite commonly one finds even recent structures 
built without regard for the essential elements of light- 
ing, heating, and sanitation. Financial limitations may 
sometimes be an excuse, though usually it is due to a 
lack of knowledge of the essentials in schoolhouse con- 
struction. 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS II9 

A case in point came to the writer's notice a short time 
ago. A schoolhouse was struck by lightning and burned 
to the ground — a good riddance indeed, as it was an old 
eyesore. The board immediately drew plans and specifi- 
cations for a new building, filing them at the house of one 
of the members, where the bids were received. Investiga- 
tion showed that the new building was to be erected on 
lines identical with the old. Not a single improvement 
of any sort was called for except that the new house was 
to be painted drab with white trimmings instead of all 
white as before! And this in a wealthy community whose 
taxpayers would have been glad to pay for a modern build- 
ing. It was clearly a case of ignorance on the part of the 
board. 

Every state should pass laws to put an end to such mal- 
administration. Let them be to the effect that hereafter 
no school district shall be allowed to erect any new school 
building or remodel an old building without first submit- 
ting complete plans and specifications to some competent 
authority (say, state board of health together with an able 
architect appointed by the state superintendent) for ap- 
proval. Some state boards of education have shown praise- 
worthy zeal in furnishing, in pamphlet form, a series of sug- 
gestive plans and specifications, varying in cost from a few 
hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, which embody 
all the latest improvements in school architecture. Placed 
in the hands of county superintendents and other super- 



120 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

visors, such plans will do a world of good and lend new im- 
petus to modern school construction. 

Choice of Site. — The first step is to choose a site. The 
essential thing to keep in mind is that the best to be found 
is none too good. The location should be as central as 
the contour of the country will permit, though it would 
be unwise to sacrifice other requisites, such as soil, sightli- 
ness, and the like, to the single item of central location. 
In any case the location should be sightly. The outlook 
should, if possible, be the most beautiful in the district, 
well removed from the disturbing influences of railroad 
tracks, mines, and manufacturing plants. A low site and 
poor drainage is not to be considered for a moment. 
Indeed, an avoidable cause of much sickness among school 
children is damp basements and foundations occasioned by 
just such sites. Neither should some bleak, wind-swept 
hill crest be selected. The ideal site would be a location 
high enough to command a good view and give it suitable 
drainage, and yet lying reasonably well sheltered. Trees 
as a background to the north and west would afford a 
suitable protection and at the same time give an excellent 
setting for the schoolhouse. The site should be porous 
and dry, and free from all putrefying substances. Then, 
finally, every school ground should have an inexhaustible 
supply of pure water, which, we shall see, must from now 
on play a part in rural school sanitation ever increasing in 
importance. 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 



121 



ECMG/t 

PL A/1 rv> I 

eaddc tt *T/iy\Sg*< 

AECMrrnco *■ caowc e 







Design No. 1. 



Fig. 4. — Design and floor plan of a good 
inexpensive building used in North Carolina. 



Arrangement of Floor Space. 

— The site being chosen, we 
may turn all our attention to 
the plan of construction. And 
here let us once more repeat, 
that no building committee 
can afford to dispense with 
the services of a competent 
architect. The interior ar- 
rangement is of paramount 
importance and must be the 
first to receive our consider- 
ation. The problem is how 
to get the greatest utility out 



fo 



rfl 


P 

r 

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T" 




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T 

zr 

~T 

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•30*\3DL ROD/-* 



PLAT1 /*1° 1 > 

A&C>MTfcCT3«. tAfai^ltCRS 

&Ai_eia>v /"i o. 

Plan No. 1. 



122 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 




Design No. 2— C. 




AKC^MTCCT06 0~t<31^iEEt5S (_ 



Plan No. 2-C. 

Fig. 5. — Design and floor plan showing how No. 4 above may be converted 
into a two-room structure. 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 1 23 

of the smallest space, without destroying the architec- 
tural beauty and harmony of the exterior. Take the 
main room of the one-room rural school building. The 
size will depend somewhat upon the number of pupils 
for which it is intended. It should provide at least 15 
square feet of floor space for each pupil, and should not 
measure to exceed 32 feet in depth by 26 feet in breadth. 
Some authorities hold that no room should measure to 
exceed 30 feet the longest way by 28 feet in breadth, as 
they deem these measurements most satisfactory from the 
standpoints of hearing and seeing. 

Library, Rest Room, and Cloak Rooms. — A model 
school cannot get along without a small library and read- 
ing room; and, to make it complete, should have a rest 
room for the teacher. The library may be fitted with 
a bay window, which may be utilized for plant culture, 
for the keeping of a school aquarium, etc. These rooms 
need not be large and may be added at no great extra 
outlay. 

The old way of hanging wraps in the open halls is un- 
sightly and unsanitary. Separate cloak rooms should be 
provided for the boys and girls. It is an excellent plan, 
wherever feasible to furnish separate, numbered lockers for 
this purpose, and one heated and well-ventilated locker to 
be used in common by all the children for drying damp 
wraps. The halls must be wide to provide against un- 
necessary crowding and should be located in such relation 



124 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



to the schoolroom that the teacher can readily have over- 
sight of them. Ceilings everywhere should be at least 13 
feet high ; the schoolroom proper should be high enough 





1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 




n 1 1.1 1 1 11 




1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 


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8e>ys- 



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m 1 



Fig. 6. — Floor plan of rural school in California. Recitation room can, 
if desired, be used as a library. 

to allow each pupil a minimum of 250 cubic feet of air 
space. 

Basement: its Uses. — A high basement should extend 
under the entire building. It should have ample glazing, 
be light and dry, and be cemented throughout, both floors 






aq y 



IWIHIHIf'f" ::: :'M 





RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 



125 



and walls. In case of heating by furnace a portion of the 
space must be walled up for furnace and fuel room. A 
part of the remaining space should be fitted with work- 
bench, etc., for shop purposes. Where the pressure tank 
system is used to supply lavatories and toilets with water, 
this tank must also be placed in the basement. Such a 
basement properly arranged can add immensely to the 
utility of the school building. 

Proper Heating and Ventilation. — Considerable at- 
tention has been paid of late years to proper heating and 
ventilation. Public and private edifices are now quite 
generally constructed along hygienic lines, wherein careful 
consideration is given to pure, fresh, and well-heated air. 
Every school building nowadays should make provision 
for an adequate system for purifying the air, and heating 
the room with fresh air at an even temperature. This 
cannot be accomplished without calling artificial means 
to our assistance. The only way to ventilate is to induce 
fresh air somehow to enter and to induce the vitiated air to 
leave the room. The method of window ventilation is 
very good at recess or other intermissions, but is positively 
dangerous while the children are in their seats, and should 
be reduced to a minimum of practice. 

There are only two satisfactory systems of ventilation, 
the expensive fan system for forcing air currents through 
the room by means of mechanical device, and the older 
gravity system. The former is too elaborate to be practic- 



126 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

able for rural schools; so we must limit our attention to the 
latter. The principle on which the gravity system works 
is very simple; but, strange as it may seem, is yet frequently 
misunderstood. Many school boards are still erecting 
large buildings with huge, unheated ventilator shafts 
which are expected to carry off vitiated air against the 
gravity pressure on the cold-air column in the flue ! Either 
the foul air must be carried into the basement and there 
purified — or, what is more practical, carried off through 
heated ventilator shafts. 

Hot-air furnaces have been installed in some rural 
schools, particularly in the Northwestern states. This 
system is excellent, first, because it does away with a heat- 
ing apparatus in the schoolroom altogether, since the fur- 
nace must be placed in the basement. Then it supplies 
the room with a constant current of warm, fresh air which 
is supplied to the heater through a fresh-air conduit from 
the outside and takes up the foul air through return regis- 
ters in the floor. 

However, for the average schoolhouse a jacket ventilat- 
ing stove will answer the purpose very well. Such stoves 
have been on the market for a number of years and may 
be set up ready for use at an outlay of from $35 to $45. 
This is a great improvement on the old-fashioned stove, 
which, as all must know, is the greatest vitiating agent 
in the room in that it uses up enormous quantities of 
oxygen in the process of combustion, and has none of the 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 1 27 

appliances for successful ventilation. Let it be abolished 
from the modern school. 

Construction of the Ventilating Stove. — The ventilating 
stove as set up ready for use appears a great deal like a 
small hot-air furnace. It comprises a cast-iron stove, 
inclosed in a heavy sheet-iron jacket which fits the floor 
tightly and has a circle of holes at the top through which 
the heated air escapes into the room. The jacket com- 
municates at the floor with a fresh-air conduit, extend- 
ing underneath the floor to the outside of the basement 
wall, the opening being protected with a coarse screen. 
The working principle is simple. Fire in the stove heats 
the cast-iron surface, which communicates its heat to the 
air between it and the outer jacket. The heated air rises 
and passes into the room; and this naturally causes an 
influx of fresh air through the conduit, which in turn be- 
comes heated, rises, and passes into the room. All this 
heated air rises towards the ceiling, expanding outward as 
it goes, and then it slowly settles towards the floor near the 
walls. A return current is created here by the stove draft, 
which helps to remove the vitiated air from the room. 

An excellent way to supplement the insufficient stove 
draught is by a conduit leading to the heated chimney. 
Of this Dr. Shaw gives a good description in his School 
Hygiene. He says : — 

In the opposite side of the room from the stove a tin or galva- 
nized-iron ventilating duct should be constructed, oblong in shape, 



128 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

having its cross-section dimensions 12 x 6 inches. The open end of 
this duct should be within one foot of the floor. The flue should 
extend to the ceiling and run along the ceiling to the chimney. 
There should not be any curved angle in this duct but a curved bend 
where the upright section unites with that which runs along the ceil- 
ing. The ventilating duct should discharge into a large chimney 
flue, at least 14 x 20 inches of cross-section area. In the middle of 
this flue there should run a sheet-iron pipe of sufficient capacity to 
deliver the smoke and gases from the stove. The heat radiated 
from this pipe when there is a brisk fire in the stove will cause a 
strong draught in the flue and draw the air out of the schoolroom 
through the ventilating duct. 

In districts where the school boards are reluctant about 
discarding the old stove for a new ventilating stove it is a 
good plan to improvise such an one by fitting a strong sheet- 
iron jacket and a fresh-air conduit to the old stove. (See 
Appendix B). 

Importance of Correct Lighting. — Correct lighting 
is the most important feature in all school building 
construction. Many forms of ailments to which the 
present generation is heir and a great many other con- 
stitutional derangements can be traced directly to poor 
lighting. The glass surface should be massed on one 
side of the room only, and the seats arranged in such a 
manner that the light will come from the left and over 
the shoulder. The window sills should be set high enough 
to be above the level of the eyes of the largest pupils when 
seated. The frames should reach to within a few inches 
of the ceiling and be square, as the best light is obtained 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 1 29 

from the upper part of the window. The total amount of 
glass surface should be about one fifth of the floor space 
of the room. If for any reason sufficient light cannot be 
furnished from the side, windows may be placed at the 
rear of the room. This, however, works a hardship on 
the teacher who is obliged to face the window much of the 
time, and should, if possible, be avoided. 

Window curtains and opaque shades — preferably of 
light green color — should be used to mellow down the 
glaring light. The shades should be made double and 
be placed at the middle of the window so as to roll up and 
down. 

Blackboards and Chalk Rails. — Blackboards should 
occupy all available wall space except on the lighted side. 
Pupils should never be obliged to stare at blackboards 
set between or at the sides of windows, as the direct light 
rays from out of doors have a tendency to make them 
squint-eyed and otherwise injure the eyesight. Slate is 
the most satisfactory writing surface in use, and is more 
economical in the long run than artificial boards, though 
the initial expense is more. The liquid slating commonly 
used has many objectionable features. Unless the plas- 
tered wall is exceptionally well finished, the board will be 
rough, it will wear out and become full of unsightly holes 
and cracks, or it will present a shiny surface, extremely 
hard on the eyes. 

If the district does not care to go to the expense of pro- 



130 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

curing slate, the Hyloplate and similar composition boards 
will answer almost as well. These have the advantage of 
coming in better lengths and being easy to apply. Then, 
too, the color — a soothing green — is highly recom- 
mended for its hygienic properties. 

Blackboards as used in rural schools should be 30 
inches from the floor and about 4 feet high. This 
will be ample to take care of the smallest as well as 
the largest pupils. The boards should be supplied with 
chalk rails 2 J inches wide, to catch the dust and hold 
crayon and erasers. 

New Sanitary Appliances. — There is no reason why 
rural schools should not have as sanitary toilets as are now 
found in well-equipped city schools. Perhaps no one 
question in school construction has presented so many 
troublesome phases as this. But that time should be past. 
Wherever it is possible to get a good supply of water from 
well or spring (and schoolhouses should never be located 
where the water supply is scanty), good indoor closets and 
lavatories may be constructed at a total outlay of about 
$350 (see plans of Kirksville, Mo.; school elsewhere in this 
book). Think what this will mean in rearing the gen- 
eration now in school ! in sparing them from contact with 
much of the indecency and viciousness occasioned by 
loathsome outbuildings! We cannot emphasize too 
strongly that the average rural school closet is a shame and 
a disgrace and should not be tolerated. Usually it is 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 131 

unsightly and unscreened, a veritable abomination to beings 
of fine sensibilities. Common decency and good morals 
demand a thorough reform in this breeding place in first 
steps in crime. 

Outhouses made Decent. — The following sugges- 
tions may not be amiss for districts which by force of 
circumstances must continue to use the outdoor closets 
indefinitely: Place the outbuildings at the rear of the 
schoolyard, and as far apart as possible. Build substan- 
tially and large. Place strong latticework screens on 
two sides of the building — on the front and inner side 
— to protect the privacy of entrance and exit. Plant 
hardy perennial vines against the lattice and train them 
so as to cover the entire structure. Mass a heavy growth 
of evergreens or shrubbery on a line halfway between 
the two outhouses, to separate the boys' half yard from 
the girls', thus affording all needed privacy. 

Keep the inside of the closets scrupulously clean. 
Cover the walls with a coat of sand paint to prevent 
marking and scribbling. In a corner of the room place 
a box containing a mixture of earth and quicklime, to 
be used from time to time to cover and dry up the excreta 
in the vault. Provide the buildings with windows, set 
high, and ventilating flues which should extend several 
feet into the vault. Make the doors strong and fit them 
with catch and lock. 

Build the vault of masonry, constructing it in such a 



I32 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

way that the accumulations may be removed without 
trouble. 

Let the key remain in the teacher's possession, who 
shall daily lock and unlock the doors, inspecting the build- 
ings as he does so. 

Now, to revert to sanitary indoor toilets. These ac- 
cessories of a twentieth-century civilization have been used 
a good many years in large places which have water 
pressure and sewerage. But the remotest rural school 
may now have as satisfactory a system of its own by using 
artificial pressure. 

The Pressure Tank and Sanitary Plumbing. — Place a 
pneumatic pressure tank in the basement of the school- 
house or in the ground near the well, and connect with 
the inside plumbing. The water may be pumped into the 
tank — using hand or wind power — with a force pump 
so ingeniously arranged that it pumps the water and applies 
the air pressure at one and the same time. The tank 
should measure about 200 gallons to a 30-pupil school, 
grading up and down according to requirement. Such sys- 
tems are used in private dwellings and schoolhouses, and 
give the best of service. 

The sewage is passed through a set of underground tanks 
and pipes and fully oxidized. Plans may be furnished by 
any up-to-date plumber. Such a sewerage system may be 
constructed at a very little cost and is infinitely more satis- 
factory than open drains and cesspools. The plant com- 



RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS 1 33 

plete, including toilets, lavatories, piping, tank with pump, 
and septic sewer have repeatedly been built for $350. 

Schoolhouse Construction must combine Utility with 
Adornment. — So far we have dealt with interior arrange- 
ment, with the hygienic appliances demanded in this 
progressive age. A word only is necessary concerning 
schoolhouse exteriors. Utility must ever be the prime 
end to be sought; but utility attained without robbing 
the exterior of architectural harmony and beauty. The 
schoolhouse should be the most practically arranged, yet 
the most attractive structure in the community. It should 
bear the stamp of educational purpose on its exterior, and 
be an educational inspiration to the entire countryside. 
It must not be overly ornate, yet not too strikingly simple. 
Let it combine the practical with the graceful and ornate 
in such proportions as to present impressions of enduring 
service and simple beauty. 



CHAPTER VIII 
Indoor Furnishing and Art 

The Old School vs. the New. — The old-time rural school 
with its large attendance and strong teacher had its faults, 
no doubt ; though it was unquestionably the rallying point 
of all the common interests of the community. At the 
schoolhouse the countryside gathered for the lyceum or 
debating club ; here they held their old-fashioned spelling- 
matches and singing-schools, and on Sundays went to 
" meeting," yet there was no aesthetic uplift of consequence 
to be gained from the place of holding these gatherings, 
at any rate from our modern point of view; for the school 
building was invariably crude and poorly constructed, the 
furniture was rough and home-made, the walls mud- 
plastered and bare. But these things harmonized with 
the pioneer life of the time; nobody expected anything 
better. 

In our day, alas! the rural school has lost many of its 
old-time attractions. It is no longer a large school. Local 
ambitions and increasing rural population have conspired 
to multiply small districts till every farmer has a school- 
house near his own front yard. Then the cityward flow 
of rural population began. Little by little the many small 
schools grew smaller and of less vitality. The good teacher 
also turned his face to the city; the ambitious pupil had to 

134 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 135 

follow him or go untaught in the higher branches. If 
this moving to the city for higher education is to continue, 
the whole rural community as well as the school will be- 
come devitalized. 

The country child is manifestly entitled to as thorough an 
education or as practical an education as the city child, and 
he is entitled to get it right in the country without going 
to the city for it. The ultimate solution of the whole 
matter lies in centralization and consolidation of schools. 
The time will be that a majority of country children can 
attend well-built, well-equipped graded schools in their 
own wholesome country environment. But this cannot 
be realized for a long time to come. Some places, indeed, 
may never realize it at all, because of unfortunate geo- 
graphical location, poverty, and the like. 

The Rural School must again become the Rallying 
Point of Country Interests. — Meanwhile, something must 
be done for the great army of boys and girls mentally and 
morally starving in rural districts, amidst the most unfor- 
tunate surroundings. The schoolhouse must once more 
become the rallying point of the community. We may 
never again see it the large school that it once was; but it 
can in a larger sense than of yore become the inspirational 
center from which shall flow influences, uplifting, blessing, 
and bettering all who may feel their touch. 

We have already discussed the new architectural re- 
quirements in Chapter VII. The beauty, grace, and 



136 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

dignity of the modern building must be such that people 
will point to it as our schoolhouse and emulate its archi- 
tecture in the construction and arrangement of their own 
homes. 

The grounds must be made attractive with plots of 
velvety grass, with trees, shrubs, and flowers. The whole 
should present an appropriate setting for the dignified 
structure placed in its midst. The interior must be in har- 
mony with the exterior. It must be homelike, bright, 
cheerful, attractive. The walls should be tinted some 
soft shade, blending well with the woodwork and black- 
boards ; pictures should adorn the walls and lend an artis- 
tic touch to the room; flowering plants should fill the ample 
bay window to add a sense of love for nature; while books 
and statuettes and plaster casts may be depended on to 
add a real scholastic touch to the atmosphere. 

Such surroundings exert a marvelous influence over the 
children. They arouse in their hearts a love for the beauti- 
ful which will last as long as life lasts. The children who 
come from homes where culture and refinement are un- 
known will enter a new life in the school, a life which they 
will soon learn to love and crave. The children from 
homes abounding in modern comforts and conveniences 
will find the new school atmosphere homelike and con- 
genial. All classes will be satisfied and will come to look 
upon the district school and its work as the noblest and 
best in human endeavor. 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 137 

The dirty, smoke-begrimed schoolhouse, with its cracked 
and broken plaster, warped floor, rusty stove, and dirt- 
stained windows, can no longer have a place in modern 
country life, if we wish to reestablish it as the rallying point 
in rural life, a place where we shall hope to save the coun- 
try boy and girl for the farm and farm life. 

Superintendent L. B. Evans on the Importance of 
Esthetic Environment. — Let Superintendent Lawton 
B. Evans, of Georgia, emphasize this vital point. He 
says in the Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural 
Schools : — 

If children are daily surrounded by those influences that elevate 
them, that make them clean and well ordered, that make them 
love flowers, and pictures, and proper decorations, they at last 
reach that degree of culture where nothing else will please them. 
When they grow up and have homes of their own, they must have 
them clean, neat, bright with pictures, and fringed with shade trees 
and flowers; for they have been brought up to be happy in no other 
environment. The true test of our civilization and culture is the kind 
of home we are content to live in, and the influences of our schools 
should help to form a disposition for those things that make home 
life happy and healthy. If the farmer's boy can be taught to love 
books when he is at school, he will have a library in his home when 
he becomes a man; if the farmer's girl can be taught decoration at 
school, she will want pictures and flowers and embroidery when she 
becomes a woman. 

Let us now consider the schoolhouse interior in detail, 
after which we shall discuss how the fitting and furnishing 
may best be procured. 



138 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Walls and Woodwork. — The walls should be float- 
finished. A coarse-grained surface is less liable to crack 
than hard finish, and looks better when tinted. The color 
will depend upon the lighting of the room. A north expo- 
sure demands warm, soft tints in red, as cream, salmon, 
and terra-cotta, and in orange and yellow. A south ex- 
posure, on the contrary, takes colors which will absorb 
the sunlight and give a cooling effect. Shades in gray and 
green are the best. The ceilings should be tinted a lighter 
color than the walls. A picture molding should extend 
around the room about two feet below the ceiling. A 
drop ceiling of ivory-white carried down to this molding, 
with walls of olive-green, make a remarkably fine combina- 
tion for a south exposure. If wall paper is used, it is well 
to avoid all florid designs ; the plain ingrains are the most 
satisfactory. 

The woodwork should be plain and free from dust- 
catching ornaments. It is an excellent idea to finish it in 
the natural grain if the wood is of good quality and matched 
for grain. Otherwise a paint harmonizing with the wall 
tints is to be preferred. 

Furniture. — The pupils' desks should face the main 
entrance, most of the light coming from the left. Single 
desks are preferable, both for disciplinary and hygienic 
reasons. Adjustable seats and desks are desirable, though 
a trifle more expensive than the others. Both the desk 
and seat may be adjusted to the pupils' needs with remark- 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 139 

able nicety. Non-adjustable desks must be graded accord- 
ing to the size of the pupils. The usual way is to arrange 
the seating by placing the largest seats in the rear of the 
room and then grading down to the smallest at the front. 
Some teachers now prefer to place the largest seats in a 
row next to the wall farthest from the windows and grading 
the rows down to the windows. This has the advantage 
that the teacher may keep the unruly big boy as well as 
the small one under immediate surveillance. 

Necessary Equipment. — The teacher's desk should be 
a plain, well set-up piece of furniture, with drawers for 
record books, etc. The library should be a cozy room. 
Matting on the floor would add much to the appearance. 
The book shelves should have glass doors and may be 
built right in the wall ; or be movable, if added after the 
construction of the building. The room should further 
have a polished reading table, at least one-half dozen 
straight-back chairs, a settee, and a couple of easy chairs 
— the latter for the use of visitors. The schoolroom and 
the library ought each to have an unabridged dictionary 
with stationary stand built against the wall. The further 
equipment should include a case of standard geographical 
maps, a set of physiological charts, reading and number 
charts, a globe and such other necessary apparatus as 
may be expressly recommended by the superintendent of 
schools. 

We underscore the word "necessary" above because ex- 



I40 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

perience has taught that the school directors who show 
the most niggardly spirit in the expenditure of school 
money for such apparatus as is really needed are often the 
first to be caught in the toils by wily agents with expensive 
paraphernalia for sale — paraphernalia both useless and 
unnecessary in the rural schools. 

Superintendent O. J. Kern on " Throwing away Good 
Coin of the Realm." — Superintendent O. J. Kern speaks 
right to the point in his admirable book Among Country 
Schools, in which he says : — 

Instead of spending $35 or $50 of the school funds for a won- 
derful chart portraying the whole scheme in the education of man 
from the cradle to the grave, why not use the same amount of 
money for paint? The chart stands neglected because the teacher 
cannot use it in the average school. A planetarium advertised for 
$35, to "clearly illustrate and practically solve the difficult prob- 
lems relating to celestial sphere, ecliptic, equinoxes, apogee and 
declination, retrograde motion of the planets, etc.," may be a neces- 
sary piece of apparatus in the hands of a teacher who knows how to 
use it; but country schools are needing shades for the windows, a 
hardwood floor, paint for the walls, a towel rack, a water tank, a 
jacket around the stove and many other things, more than planeta- 
riums and geometrical blocks. And yet the school officers are 
throwing away good coin of the realm in such purchases of appa- 
ratus beyond the use of the average country school. Rather use 
the money to purchase lumber, paint, blackboards, and soap. 

The progressive Illinois educator does not mean that 
schools may get along without working apparatus. Far 
from it! He begins the campaign at the beginning by 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 141 

demanding water and soap and paint. Later he purposes 
to get as many of the teacher's necessary " tools " as the 
district can afford. 

Unfortunate the school whose board members are un- 
reasonably chary in expending school money for needed 
equipment! Let the teacher insist and persist; let the 
superintendent back him up. Between them they can, 
in the end, create a favorable sentiment in the community, 
and win the point. Some people may say desks and 
shelves and dictionaries are very good; but settees and 
easy-chairs in school! — this is going too far! No doubt, 
many have such thoughts. But, mind, the time is not far 
distant when even easy-chairs will be conceded a place in 
the well-appointed schoolhouse! 

Choice of Pictures : Things to be Considered. — With 
the walls and woodwork finished off and the furniture pro- 
vided, we are ready to consider the wall decorations. The 
teacher must use the greatest discrimination in the choice 
of pictures. Good taste and artistic skill employed in 
this important task will later be reflected in correct stand- 
ards of life acquired in the school. To begin with, the 
walls should not be covered with picture cards and odds 
and ends. This gives the room a stuffy effect, and is out 
of place except in a cozy-corner or den at home. Loud- 
colored chromos, gaudy advertisements, and illuminated 
calendars of doubtful merit should be avoided. To permit 
such ornamentation is to train the children in the hap- 



142 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

hazard, which is bound to bear fruit in gaudy, semibar- 
baric home decorations. The schoolroom should be 
cheery, but at the same time " restful in its color, decora- 
tions, and atmosphere." 

The number, size, and shape of the pictures will depend 
upon the size and arrangement of the schoolroom. In a 
room of, say, 28 feet by 30 feet, five or six good-sized pic- 
tures would be enough. By good size is meant large 
enough to be easily studied from the farthest corner of the 
room. The pictures should approximate 18 inches by 
24 inches, unframed. It is a good idea to use plain hard- 
wood frames; black or brown are very attractive. Sus- 
pend the pictures from the molding to avoid driving 
nails into the wall. 

It is also essential to consider light and space in hanging 
pictures. For example, pictures of indistinct details will 
show off to best advantage in strong light, say, on the wall 
opposite the windows, where these are massed on one side. 
Hang horizontal pictures wherever the wall space is long 
and low, as, for instance, above the blackboards. For the 
same reason vertical pictures will look best in the narrow 
space at the sides of the windows or between them. The 
pictures for the library can be considerably smaller, and 
their hanging be governed by shape of wall space, arrange- 
ments of furniture, etc. 

Every Picture selected should have Educative Value. — 
Every picture should be selected ior real educative value. 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 1 43 

This may take the form of study of nature and animal 
life, as in Bonheur's Horse Fair, Adan's Summer Even- 
ing, or Douglas's Vikings; historical interest, as in Bick- 
nell's Battle of Lexington, Boughton's Pilgrim Exiles, or 
Brozik's Columbus at the Court of Isabella; study of 
great men, as in Duplcssis' Benjamin Franklin, Stuart's 
George Washington, or Trumbull's Alexander Hamilton; 
and genuine artistic worth, as in Hoffman's Head of Christ, 
Millet's The Angelus, or Raphael's Sistine Madonna. 

We are fortunate to live at an age when copies of the 
great masters are easy to procure. Reproductions in 
prints, carbons, photogravures, and color prints from the 
originals in paintings, sculpture, and architecture are 
offered for sale at very reasonable prices by firms which 
make a specialty of supplying the needs of schools in these 
lines. 

Plaster Casts. — Plaster casts add much to the attrac- 
tiveness and scholastic atmosphere of the room. At least 
one good-sized cast should be found in every rural school ; 
they are inexpensive, and the range of subjects is large, 
including busts of great men, American and foreign, and 
reproductions of the world's best sculpture. Never select 
a perfectly white cast; ivory and cream colors are better, 
as they are less liable to soil and show dust. Soiled casts, 
by the way, are readily renovated by giving them a coat 
of gold or bronze paint. 

It is hoped that the following groups of casts and pictures 



144 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

may be suggestive and aid the rural teacher in making 
a selection for the school. Any one group should be 
sufficient for the average rural school. 

First Group. 

Cast: Washington. 

Pictures : The Boy Christ, Hoffman ; Summer Evening, 
Adan; Battle of Lexington, Bicknell; Deer in the Forest, 
Bonheur; Cicero's Oration against Catiline, Maccari. 

Second Group. 

Cast: Samuel Adams. 

Pictures: Sistine Madonna, Raphael; The Gleaners, 
Millet; Monarch of the Glen, Landseer; Washington 
crossing the Delaware, Leutze; Taking a Pilot, Seeley. 

Third Group. 

Cast: Webster. 

Pictures: Primary School in Brittany, Geoffroy; An 
Old Monarch, Bonheur; Battle of Bunker Hill, Trum- 
bull; Planting Potatoes, Millet; Pied Piper of Hamelin, 
Kaulbach. 

Fourth Group. 

Cast: Lincoln. 

Pictures: Signing Declaration of Independence, Trum- 
bull; Kabyle, Schreyer; Princes in the Tower, Millais; 
Meadow Pool, Pearce; Holy Family, Murillo. 

The following pictures are very suggestive subjects for 
the library and reading room: — 

Washington at Dorchester Heights, Stuart; Sir Galahad, 
Watts; Benjamin Franklin, Duplessis; Photogravures 
of Longfellow, Emerson, and Mann; The Parthenon, 
Athens; The Sphinx, Egypt; Shakespere's House, Eng- 
land; Stratford-on-Avon, England; The Reader, Hunt; 
Sir Walter Scott, Leslie; Victor Hugo, Bonnat. 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 1 45 

Reliable dealers in photogravures, prints, engravings, 
etchings, casts, etc.: — 

Pictures: The Perry Picture Co., A. W. Elson and Co., 
The Prang Educational Co., and Horace K. Turner Co. — 
all of Boston, Mass. 

Casts: P. P. Caproni and Co., and Curtis and Cameron, 
both of Boston; and Berlin Photographic Co., New York 
City. 

Now, how can we secure the desired schoolroom deco- 
rations ? School directors may not care to spend district 
money for this purpose and, indeed, can hardly be ex- 
pected to do so ; therefore, we must resort to other means. 
Let us first see what other sections of our country are ac- 
complishing in school decoration. 

The School Improvement League of Maine. — This 
league was organized in 1898 and has a membership ap- 
proximating 60,000 enthusiastic teachers, pupils, and 
patrons scattered throughout the state. The underlying 
motive of the organization " is the awakening of a con- 
trolling interest in the school on the part of its pupils 
and patrons." What remarkable success it has met with 
can best be seen from the state superintendent's report, 
which reads: — 

The statement that the School Improvement League has done 
more for the betterment of the schools than any other agency 
during the past quarter of a century has been proven by so many 
instances that its correctness cannot longer be questioned. 

It has rendered its greatest service by calling attention to present 
conditions, the necessity for changes and convincing the people 



146 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

concerned that the work must be done by those living in the com- 
munity in which the school is located. Concentrating the atten- 
tion of the entire population of any section upon its school interests 
always results, not only in better schools, but also in showing the 
people that they must decide what shall be done and be responsible 
for its performance. This necessitates the devising of plans, the 
choice of possibilities, taste in selecting, and judgment in using. 
These efforts, in turn, result in intellectual training, moral nurture, 
and aesthetic culture. 

In its few years of existence the league has improved 
the conditions of almost every school in the state by exert- 
ing an influence resulting in renovated and beautified 
interiors, better physical surroundings, and well-supplied 
rural school libraries. But, " even better than that," 
to quote further from the league report, " in an increasing 
sense of responsibility the pupils are manifesting in matters 
of prime importance to them, and in a stronger interest 
in the local school." 

Other states, following the example set by Maine, are 
accomplishing praiseworthy results. Tens of thousands 
of dollars are expended annually now for rural school 
decorations. Only a few years back the movement was 
practically unknown; now cities and villages everywhere 
are doing much for art in the school, through local improve- 
ment associations, by conducting lyceum courses, and in 
other ways accumulating funds. 

What can the Individual Teacher Do. — Now the ques- 
tion arises, what shall the individual rural school teacher 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 1 47 

do to provide such decorations for her school? The 
answer will depend upon several things — upon whether 
she will have to work alone or in conjunction with other 
teachers of the county under the leadership of the super- 
intendent. If she has to depend solely on herself, she must 
make use of every ounce of natural ingenuity to win out; 
if the superintendent places himself at the head of the art 
campaign, her work will be greatly simplified. 

This is what one Kansas teacher has accomplished, 
single-handed and unaided by her superintendent. And 
what she has done others can do, or at least try to do. 

Miss D. entered upon her duties as teacher of a certain 
small district in Atchison county, in September, 1906. She 
found the building in a fair state of repair, and scrupulously 
clean ! This latter feature, which was as remarkable as it is 
unusual in rural schools, was readily traced to the wife of 
one of the directors, whose Dutch habits of love for soap 
and water forbade her to permit "teacher" to look upon 
a dirty schoolroom. The woodwork was painted a dingy 
gray, with walls calcimined a startling navy-blue! Group- 
ings of picture cards, gaudy display cards illustrative of 
farm machinery and the benefits of stock-food, together 
with calendars almost without number, were sprinkled in 
a ludicrous fashion over this background. Amidst such 
grotesque surroundings the art campaign began. 

What the Plucky Teacher can Accomplish. — The first 
step was to get the walls retinted. The board yielded to 



148 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

the teacher's whim, as they no doubt considered it, after 
much persuasion on her part, and agreed to repaint the 
room. As a result, work began the very next Friday 
evening, and when the children returned to school Monday 
morning, there was the room beautiful and fresh with its 
walls a pearly gray and the woodwork a deeper shade of 
the same color. This much was accomplished the first 
week at an outlay of $13.50, and the way was opened to 
better things. Some may say she did not accomplish 
much; we could all have done as well. This is very true, 
we all could do as well if we only would! How many of us 
have really the temerity to insist on what we deem essential 
for best school work? How many of us inconvenience 
ourselves and really go out of our way to change present 
school evils? This much is certain, the teacher who has 
such initiative is the teacher to have; she will be sure of 
early preferment and rise in the educational world. 

Art Programmes and Basket Suppers. — Miss D., 
as a next step, provided at her own expense small desk 
copies of the Perry pictures and devoted the daily 
opening exercises to talks on art, in this way seeking to 
create a love for the beautiful. It is well to state here 
that our teacher was no more of an artist than is the or- 
dinary rural teacher; but she had a love for these things 
and was thoroughly versed in them, through reading such 
excellent books as Coffin's How to Study Pictures, Emery's 
How to Enjoy Pictures, etc. Soon she launched before her 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 149 

pupils a plan for securing pictures for the bare walls, a plan 
which was enthusiastically received by all. It was agreed 
to concentrate all efforts on two pictures by way of begin- 
ning — Bonheur's Horse Fair and Millet's Angelus. A 
Bonheur-Millet programme was arranged for the evening 
of the third Friday in November. Printed invitations and 
programmes were sent to every patron and resident in the 
district. Moreover, a committee, headed by Miss D., 
waited on the housewives of the community, soliciting 
them to furnish a basket supper for two, the proceeds from 
which were to be used for school decorations. When the 
time set arrived the following programme was rendered to 
a crowded house : — 

Song by the School " O Come, Come Away " 

Brief talk: " Our Aim " Teacher 

" Life and Works of Rosa Bonheur " A girl 

" History of the ' Horse Fair ' " A boy 

Quartet — selected " The Hardscrabbles '* 

" Life and Works of Jean Francois Millet " A boy 

" History of the ' Angelus '" A girl 

Vocal Solo: " The Vesper Bells " Young woman from the county seat 
Brief talk on " Schoolhouse Decoration " County Superintendent 

Auction of Baskets 

Supper 

Statement of Finances 

Song: "Good Night" The School 

The supper netted $37.40. Free-will offerings increased 
the total to $43.40. After paying the expense of printing 



150 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

the programmes and invitations, there remained $41.90 to 
be expended for decorations. Here is a list of the pur- 
chases, including size and price: — 

Bonheur's Horse Fair, Color Print, 18 x 22 $ 5.00 

Bust of George Washington, Half Size 5.00 

Abraham Lincoln, Brown Print, 18 x 22 4.00 

Millet's Angelus, Brown Print, 22 x 32 7.00 

Boughton's Pilgrims Going to Church, Color Print, 18 x 22 ] 5.00 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Brown Print, 18 x 32 . . 5.00 

Frames for the above pictures 11.50 

$41-5° 

It is hard to overestimate the value of this one pro- 
gramme and social evening to the " Hardscrabble Dis- 
trict " — in lasting results. The school atmosphere became 
suddenly changed. Clean walls, painted in restful tints, 
greeted the happy children; all day long the pictures on 
the wall spoke in no uncertain terms, looking down upon 
them from their frames, blessing and inspiring. The love 
for the beautiful in life thus implanted in the child breast 
will bear a bountiful harvest in its time. Children and 
parents alike are blessed in such a teacher. 

Programmes of Similar Nature. — The school year affords 
numerous occasions for holding similar programmes. The 
teacher might plan a Harvest Home Social, decorating the 
room in seasonable products of the soil, as corn and cane. 
The best fruits from the school garden would add much to 
the appearance of the room as well as to the importance of 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 151 

the occasion. After the programme a basket supper should 
follow. Thanksgiving Day affords opportunity to plan 
something elaborate. Then in many rural districts the 
Christmas holidays are unexcelled for enterprises of this 
kind. Of course it would mean that the teacher must 
forego some of her home pleasures ; but think what it 
would mean to the community of toilers whose missionary 
that teacher is ! It would be time well invested and certain 
to bear its reward. 

What the County Superintendent can do for Art in 
Rural Schools. — The county superintendent can generally 
do more than any other person to plan a concerted move- 
ment to supply the schools with decorations. An excellent 
plan would be for him to organize all the schools of the 
county into groups, making, say, the township the unit 
of grouping. Then let the superintendent make arrange- 
ments with one of the many art firms having traveling 
exhibits for the loan of pictures. These should be ex- 
hibited for one or two days, at the largest and most centrally 
situated schoolhouse or hall in each township. Every 
teacher in the township, without exception, must have a 
part in the enterprise. The success or failure of the exhibit 
lies wholly in the energy and enthusiasm displayed by all 
the teachers. Let them vie with each other to see who 
can get the largest number of patrons and children to 
attend. The time might readily be planned in such a 
way as to avoid undue crowding at any one time. In 



I52 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

the country one can readily charge twenty-five cents ad- 
mission for adults, with reasonable reduction on family 
tickets, and fifteen cents for children. 

The superintendent ought to make himself personally 
responsible for the success of the exhibits by making the 
township rounds and giving, perhaps, an address on school 
decorations and their importance to education. By thus 
lending himself to the cause he could do more good and 
assure himself of a larger acquaintanceship among the 
public than in any other way. 

The net proceeds from admissions and sales of pictures 
should be divided equally among the participating schools, 
and be expended for pictures and casts. The Horace K. 
Turner Company, Art Publishers and Importers of Boston ; 
The Prang Educational Company of Chicago; The J. C. 
Witter Company, Fifth Ave., New York; and The Soule 
Art Company of Boston, are some of the many reliable 
firms which send out loan exhibits for educational purposes. 

It can thus be seen that to supply our rural schools with 
art decorations is not an impossibility. A little enter- 
prise, some persistent work, and a reasonable measure of 
grit will do wonders. Teachers may wage the campaign 
unaided or in conjunction with other teachers and the 
superintendent. Wherever the plans have been tried, 
results have abundantly justified the labor necessary for 
success. 

Let teachers, superintendents, and friends of education 



INDOOR FURNISHINGS AND ART 1 53 

in our country districts everywhere lend a hand in the 
campaign. Let all do something to satisfy the rural child's 
craving for the beautiful and the uplifting in life which is 
the common inheritance of all mankind. Let us do it by 
making their schoolhouses attractive and homelike. 



CHAPTER IX 
Nature Study; School Grounds 

Now that we have set the school building to rights it 
is time to consider the value of a corresponding outdoor 
environment — of school grounds and school gardens which 
shall make an appropriate setting for the dignified modern 
structure. We have already alluded to this subject when- 
ever it became necessary to do so on account of its close 
relation to indoor art and similar branches of aesthetics. 
It remains now to point out more in detail how beautiful 
flowers, shrubs, and trees, how school gardens, lawns, 
and groves may be made instruments in saving the farm 
child from the allurements of city life and make him con- 
tented with life on the farm. 

Our School Work too Formal and Bookish. — All our 
school work has been too formal and bookish. We have 
all along relied too much on text-books to the neglect of 
real living nature. Happily we are beginning to realize the 
importance of the love and study of nature, and are coming 
to see that from it have sprung love of art, science, and 
religion. Paradoxical as it may sound, the farm child 
has lived in the very heart of nature and yet remained a 

154 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 1 55 

stranger there. In the struggle to subdue forest and plain 
his father and grandfather before him had scant time for 
anything but to wring a living from the soil. Naturally 
enough he inherits certain " practical " traits which make 
him prone to judge nature by the commercial standard 
rather than to love it for its own sake. To change these 
misconceptions the new teacher must be able to take the 
child in its own little world and lead it along the pathway 
of life, directing its native adaptabilities, sentiments, and 
powers, and there develop in the child breast a sympathy 
with its environment and in the child mind an understand- 
ing of nature and nature's ways — then, once awakened 
to the surpassing beauties of rural environments, the 
American boy and girl will no longer be in danger of de- 
serting the farm for the man-made glitter of the city. 

Nature Study Defined. — We may find a solution for many 
of our present difficulties in school work in what is gener- 
ally called nature study. This is not so much an attempt 
to add another subject to an already overcrowded cur- 
riculum. It is rather a new direction given to old subjects 
— a leaven infused into old forms — than anything else. 
It applies in great measure to the entire course of study, 
since it is possible to encourage the child to close and 
careful observation of nature through a properly directed 
lesson in English composition as readily almost as through 
lessons in geography and elementary science. Most 
satisfactory, perhaps, is the definition of Dr. Clifton F. 



156 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Hodge in his well-known book, Nature Study and Life 
He formulates it, as " learning those things in nature 
that are best worth knowing, to the end of doing those 
things that make life most worth living." In rural com- 
munities those things are manifestly best worth knowing 
which tend to make people there content with their lot; 
aye, more ! which help them to realize that rural life is for 
Americans the normal life — the best life attainable in this 
greatest of agricultural nations! 

How Nature Study is Valuable to the Rural Child. — 
The values of nature study to the rural child are many and 
far-reaching. Writers offer various methods of classi- 
fication. While some make use of two divisions only, — 
aesthetic and scientific, — others go farther and give as 
many as five or more. For convenience we may classify 
these values as (1) economic, (2) aesthetic, (3) social — 
ethical, (4) religious, (5) educational. 

Economic. — The economic is counted the first, though 
certainly not the highest, nature-study value. With in- 
crease in population farming must become intensive and 
scientific. In the past we have been wasteful and prodigal 
of our great resources; but we are learning new lessons 
in economy every day. Increasing cost of farm lands 
demands greater returns from the soil. To accomplish 
this we must study nature and learn from it how to 
provide against needless waste and insure increased pro- 
ductiveness. 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS I 57 

We must begin at the beginning and study from the 
bottom up. As a nation Americans are not intimate 
with nature. Our school children have been . kept 
busy at tasks little calculated to make them familiar 
with the common goods in nature or with its evil things. 
Children should know the value of pure air and pure water, 
the influence of sheltering forests and shade trees, the 
importance to life on the farm of beneficent birds, insects, 
and batrachian animals. They should, on the other 
hand, be familiar with the pests constantly menacing life 
everywhere, such as destructive insects, birds, and other 
animals, noxious weeds and multiform vegetable disease. 

It appeals strongly to a farming community to have 
their children accomplish real, tangible results. The 
effect is to draw ever closer the ties which bind the school- 
house and farm home through kindred interests. Out of 
such beginnings higher motives will eventually develop. 
At all events, the study of real nature opens possibilities 
for the farm child hitherto unknown. It is a grand thing 
to learn in school and on excursions with the teacher into 
the woods and over the hills the thousand and one things 
which make life worth living. The farmer will take a 
renewed interest in the school that can teach his children 
things of practical value for the farm. There are things 
for him to learn, too. It is doubtful whether the average 
farmer realizes the harm done by the unsightly weeds, 
fungus growths, and the like, to be seen about the premises; 



158 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

or the value of birds and toads and beneficent insects in 
saving the orchard and field from ravage and devastation. 
Some day his children will come home from the new rural 
school — the modern complement of farm life — and 
teach him. 

Esthetic. — All mankind love the beautiful. It appeals 
to their sense of the perfect. The human mind receives an 
uplift in the harmony and symmetry coming through the 
unification of diverse elements, manifesting itself in out- 
ward contentment and happiness. As soon as a people has 
subdued primitive nature with which it has had to contend 
and has wrung from it a sustenance, it seeks to surround 
itself with the beautiful in nature, thereby satisfying 
an instinctive craving to get above the sordid in life. 
The pages of history furnish us untold illustration. The 
rock-ribbed tombs of Egypt bear silent witness to this 
love of the beautiful in a nation living 5000 years ago. 
Late excavations at Nippur tell the story of marvelous 
gardens and parks which 6000 years ago gladdened the 
hearts of the Euphrates dwellers. Nebuchadnezzar con- 
structed the marvelous Hanging Gardens of Babylon to 
console his queen pining for the wild beauties of her 
native Median hills. ^Esthetic culture, with us, will 
teach the country folk to love their native woods and 
prairies; it will make them content to dwell there and 
long for them when away. 

To attain this end it is not enough to talk about the 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 1 59 

wonders of nature or its sublime influence; we must 
study and dig and plant. At home and at school the small 
still voice of nature should be permitted to commune with 
us through beautiful flowers and waving grasses, sheltering 
shrubs and spreading trees. A forlorn, wind-swept school 
ground is more than we can realize the first cause to weary 
the boy and girl of country schools and country life. 
Teach them the surpassing beauty of rural environment 
on the school grounds and in the school gardens — ■ 
teach them to dig and plant; as teacher, dig and plant 
side by side with them. Then the very Earth shall preach 
her sermons in their ears and make them strong in their 
love to dwell close to nature's heart. 

Social and Ethical. — Properly directed, nature study 
may do much to teach children to respect the rights of 
others. The sooner a child learns that there are social 
and moral obligations which he is in duty bound to re- 
spect, the better it will be for that child. Every boy and 
girl is full of energy. The surplus will find a vent some- 
how, and be put to use, good or evil, as directed. If they 
are early led to love nature, they will learn to protect it. 
Such children will never vandalize nature by destroying 
planted trees or other useful flora. Birds and insects will 
be safe from their molestation; the insectivorous toads 
will no longer fear their clods and sticks. When grown 
up, they will wage relentless war against the many disease- 
breeding pests found in the fence corners, along the public 



l6o THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

highway, or in the barn-yard, at the present time so little 
known and less heeded. Growth in respect for social and 
ethical law is sadly needed in our country, but communion 
with nature and nature's God may do much to ameliorate 
existing conditions. 

Religious. — To love nature is to love nature's God. 
No human being can continue in adoration of living, 
teeming nature without feeling in his breast a growing 
adoration and love for Him who created all the wonders 
of earth, giving them to man to keep and hold dominion 
over. The race in its infancy sought the Creator through 
worship of natural phenomena. Even yet 

" To him who in the love of nature holds 
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks 
A various language ; — " 

The teacher's manifest opportunity is to take advantage 
of the " still voice" of nature to reach the inner recesses 
of the child soul to instil there a love for well-doing in 
looking after the happiness of God's created things, thereby 
attaining the child's happiness and for himself the Crown 
of Life. 

Educational. — Finally, nature study has per se edu- 
cational value of utmost importance. The naturalistic 
tendency in education has been the slow growth of cen- 
turies. Rousseau, as its first advocate, held " that the 
educational material should be the facts and phenomena 
of nature, that it should consist chiefly in an inquiry into 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS l6l 

nature's laws, and should be through an intimate, fear- 
less, and constant association with nature rather than 
man." Pestalozzi saw clearly that " nature develops all 
the forces of humanity by exercising them." "The ex- 
ercise of man's faculties and talents, to be profitable, must 
follow the course laid down by nature for the education 
of humanity." The first fruits of the new century have 
been to realize much that was advocated by the early 
educational seers. The disproportion between the formal 
and the practical in teaching is still very great and pre- 
sumably will remain so for a long time to come. But 
beginnings are made in many schools which will eventually 
end in a satisfactory equilibrium being struck. 

Just what topics should be included in the nature-study 
course in rural schools and what left out will be deter- 
mined by the essential and fundamental things in rural 
life. They will center largely about the useful and practi- 
cal in the local environment — in a study of the trees and 
flowers on the school grounds or out by the roadside, of 
the robin and the wren building on the grounds in trees 
and bird houses, — these and similar topics may be studied 
with profit. Nature study will find concrete expression 
in planning, platting, and keeping school grounds, and in 
school-garden culture, and will eventually lead to studies 
in elementary agriculture. 

Syllabus of Nature Study prepared by Committee of 
Industrial Education in Rural Communities. — It is not 



1 62 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

the province of this book to present a complete working 
syllabus for nature-study classes; though, doubtless, 
rural teachers would be glad to have a brief outline of a 
suggestive nature on which to base their work. Nothing 
better has been published recently in this line than the 
outline printed in the appendix of the book. It is 
taken from the report of the Committee of Five, N.E.A., 
on Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Communities. 
The scheme covers the first five years in school, and is to 
be followed in years 6, 7, and 8 with a course in elementary 
agriculture. It will be clearly understood that this is 
not a complete working scheme, but, in the words of 
the committee, merely " an outline or framework which 
will serve to define nature-study work, and to suggest 
the kinds of subjects that may be profitably under- 
taken." 

With a realization of the rural school's enlarged mission 
naturally follows a demand for greatly enlarged grounds. 
The school is no longer a place for the mere assigning and 
hearing of lessons — it needs an outdoor laboratory where 
children and teacher may labor side by side. A couple 
of acres may answer the purpose, but three or even four 
would be much better. The location must be sightly 
and well drained. It should, indeed, be the very best site 
to be secured in the community (see Chapter VII). 
About two thirds of the entire tract may be used for the 
main grounds, and what is left for the school garden. 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 163 

Ideal School Grounds. — Such ideal grounds should 
present a vision pleasing to the eye — the schoolhouse 
set in the midst of a carpet of velvety green, broken here 
and there by flower beds, bright with beauty and color — 
beds of scarlet and yellow cannas, old-fashioned geraniums, 
and, in the fence corners, many-colored hollyhocks; 
winding walks and rustic seats; climbing vines on lattice 
and wall, and rustic baskets pendent from post and tripod; 
groups of evergreens and shade trees; at the rear separate 
playgrounds for the boys and girls; outbuildings — where 
these have to be outdoors — set well back in opposite 
corners near the school garden which occupies the extreme 
rear, and screened with vines and shrubs; all this, finally, 
inclosed with fence or living hedge. 

Preparing the Soil. — The first step is to establish the 
proper grade ; this done, the soil must be prepared. The 
schoolhouse should be set back at least one hundred feet 
from the front entrance to the grounds. In case the site 
is nearly on a dead level it is imperative that the foundation 
should be built high and the soil graded up to it, to give 
the proper drainage. The school garden would give best 
results if level or nearly so. The playground, especially 
if it contains a baseball diamond, must be entirely level. 
The ground where the building stands would be ideal if 
sloping gently forward and to the two sides. For satis- 
factory results it is necessary to plow the entire tract before 
planting. If virgin prairie, it must be " broke " and 



164 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

"back-set" before the next step can be taken. It is 
essential, too, that the soil should be well prepared. Let it 
be graded and well harrowed, and then, by way of putting 
on the finishing touches, carefully raked. 

Planning and Platting. — Now we are ready to plan and 
plat the ground. Some school officers may leave this im- 
portant work altogether in the hands of the teacher and 
the children; but others will want a hand in for them- 
selves. If our farmers could realize the transcendent im- 
portance of the planting, the entire countryside would 
turn out and help! 

A carefully scaled plat should now be laid off on paper. 
It must be exact in detail and indicate by name or number 
the variety of trees and shrubs to be planted, and just 
where to plant, how to curve the walks, etc. This will 
assure system and harmony when the work is at length 
completed. 

Walks and Drives. — Gracefully curving paths and 
drives are preferable to the stiff and lifeless straightway 
style. Otherwise, how they shall run, their width, etc., 
must be governed by the location of the schoolhouse, 
the size and shape of the grounds, and similar circum- 
stances. If the grounds are very large, a winding drive 
may run to the building, whence it may continue to the 
rear of the grounds to the horse sheds, if such are used. 
Another way is to construct two drives, — both short, — 
one running to the side entrance of the building, making 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 1 65 

a graceful curve around the flag-staff, running back out 
by the same track it entered; the other being a single 
approach to the fuel house and horse sheds. The drives 
should hardly be less than six feet wide. The main walk 
leading to the front entrance should be five feet wide; 
those leading to the well and outbuildings may be as 
narrow as three feet. All walks and drives should be 
graveled or covered with cinders. If stones are plentiful 
it would be well to add a coping or edging of rough stones. 
This would increase the picturesqueness of the grounds 
and at the same time protect the edges of the lawn. 

Playgrounds. — If it is at all possible, three separate 
playgrounds should be provided. One for the older boys, 
where they may enjoy the sports so dear to the boyish 
heart — baseball, jumping, wrestling, and playing 
" catch." A turning pole and a couple of heavy climbing 
ropes would add materially to the boys' pleasure, not to 
mention their gain in muscular agility and straightened 
backs. The older girls might have their playground at 
one side of the house, insomuch as it will partake much 
of the nature of a lawn, inclosed by shrubs and trees. 
The~smaller children do best if left to themselves. Their 
playground should lie between those of the larger boys and 
girls. Distinct rows of shrubs and trees should separate 
the playgrounds from each other. 

Planting. — Great care must be used in planting trees 
and shrubs. Unless the teacher or some one of the school 



1 66 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

officers is experienced in this work, it would be well to get 
a skilled horticulturist to do the first planting, when so 
much is at stake. Later the teacher should take charge 
of the work ; his assistants should be chosen from the older 
boys and girls; the entire school should be permitted to 
give such assistance as they are able; and, whatever else 
they may do or not do, they should keep their eyes and 
ears open. While lack of space precludes a lengthy dis- 
cussion of the actual planting process, we venture to give 
the following brief cultural directions, taken from L. C. 
Corbett's " The School Garden " (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 
218) : — 

The beauty of a shade tree depends upon its normal and symmet- 
rical growth. In order to insure this, before planting cut off the 
ends of all broken or mutilated roots; remove all side branches, 
save upon evergreens, so that a straight whip-like stalk alone re- 
mains. Dig holes at least 2 feet in diameter and 1 foot deep in 
good soil, and make them 4 feet across in poor soil. The sides 
of holes should be perpendicular and the bottom flat. Break up 
soil in the bottom of the hole to the depth of the length of a spade 
blade. Place 2 or 3 inches of fine top soil, free from sods or other 
decomposing organic matter, in the bottom of the hole. On top of 
this place the roots of the tree, spread them as evenly as possible 
over the bottom of the hole, and cover with 2 or 3 inches of fine top 
soil as before. Tramp firmly with the feet and fill the hole with good 
earth, leaving the surface loose and a little higher than the surface 
of the surrounding soil. When the work of planting is complete, 
the tree should stand about 2 inches deeper than it stood in the 
nursery. 

In order to insure symmetry of growth, trees must be allowed un- 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 1 67 

restricted area for development. At least 40 feet should be allowed 
between trees intended to occupy the ground permanently. Quick- 
growing nurse or temporary trees may be planted between the long- 
lived ones to produce immediate results, but these should be removed 
as soon as they interfere with the development of the permanent 
plantations. 

Trees. — The best results in tree planting are usually 
secured by planting only such trees as are native to the 
particular section, since they are already inured to the cli- 
mate, soil, and other conditions. Several varieties of elm, 
the hard and soft maples, ash, basswood, and box elder 
may be planted to good advantage. A few exotics might 
be sprinkled over the grounds for the sake of variety and 
ornament. The cut-leaf birch is very fine, as are also 
horse chestnuts and Norway maples. A few evergreens 
must not be left out. They are well beloved by all for 
their distinctive forms and many other characteristics. 
Certain varieties grow very large and are rather coarse in 
their foliage; these must not be planted too close to the 
building. The Norway spruce, the white pine, and the 
blue spruce are the best varieties for this purpose; they 
are noted for their beautiful form and deep green color, 
even in midwinter. 

Hedges. — The grounds must be inclosed from the 
first by a substantial fence, supplied with all necessary 
turnstyles, and swinging gates for teams. In time a living 
hedge should supplant it. Nothing is more beautiful to 
the eye than well-kept school grounds surrounded by a 



1 68 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

well-trimmed hedge of evergreens or deciduous growth. 
If the former is desired, arborvitae, dwarf hemlock, and 
California privet are all excellent. The Citrus trifoliata 
is especially well adapted to the Southern states. For 
hedges of deciduous growth the most common species are 
the European thorn apple, the buckthorn, and the osage 
orange. 

Shrubbery. — A great many good shrubs grow wild in 
the woods and by the roadside. When properly massed, 
they add materially to the beauty and utility of the grounds. 
Single specimens are beautiful in themselves, but their 
utility lies mainly in screening unsightly places, such as 
outdoor closets, filling fence corners with a mass of beauty, 
which are otherwise prone to become catch-alls for all kinds 
of trash. Massed against a high foundation, they relieve^ 
the hard angular lines between the building and the ground 
and give a most pleasing effect. Two or more bold group- 
ings on the large front lawn would add surprisingly to its 
pictorial effect. The larger growing and coarser shrubs 
should constitute the body of the group, and be edged 
about with smaller specimens cultivated for their flowers 
or striking foliage. Some horticulturists have preferred 
to plant an irregular mass of trees and shrubs on the sides 
of the grounds away from the public highway, instead of 
the hedge fence. In the system of planting suggested in 
these pages such an arrangement would do nicely for one 
of the two sides opposite the road, — assuming that the 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 1 69 

grounds lie at the intersection of two roads, — as it would 
give it the appearance of the broken edge of our native 
woods; but where there is a school garden to the rear of 
the main grounds a dense growth of trees and shrubs be- 
tween these would be injurious both to the light and soil 
of the garden. So here, then, a single hedge fence will have 
to suffice. (See Appendix.) 

Vines. — The chief use of vines on school premises 
should be to screen and cover unsightly outbuildings and 
sheds. Pillar decorations on the lawn are also attractive. 
If the school structure is frame, it is not advisable to cover 
it with a growth of vines as they are very hard on paint 
and weatherboarding. But a brick or stone building 
should by all means have its bare walls covered over with 
a softening mantle of ivy or woodbine. None but the most 
hardy vines should be used. Among the best of these are 
the rapid-growing Virginia creeper; the Actinidia poly- 
gama and the Akebia quinata, two excellent twiners recently 
introduced from Japan; and, finally, the many well-known 
varieties of clematis, honeysuckles, woodbine, ivy, and 
wistaria. 

Flowers. — It is almost trite to say anything further on 
flowers. They are essential and give the crowning touch 
of beauty to the grounds. Endless varieties may be pro- 
cured at the greenhouse, the florist's, or from the home 
gardens of the community. For early spring bedding 
such bulbous plants as tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses are 



170 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



unequaled. If desirable, the same beds may be used later 
in the season for hardy annuals grown from seeds scattered 
among the blooming bulbs. A bed of cannas and cala- 
diums will add somewhat of a semitropical touch. Vio- 
lets and pansies thrive best when planted on the cool, 
shady side of the house. Finally, best of all are the hardy 
perennials — peonies, roses, lilies, and irises. 

Before we close the discussion of grounds beautiful a 

word must be said in 



behalf of the small 
feathered guardians 
which spend such 
busy lives in an en- 
deavor to destroy 
the insect pests 
preying on tree and 
flower, and of the 





Fig. 6. — Such bird-boxes as the above are 
simple and every boy with some native 
ability can make them. 



harmless toad which does its work so well, silently 
hopping about destroying millions of insects and their 
larvae. 

Birds and Bird Houses. — Children should be early 
taught that these animals are not only harmless, but that 
they are their friends; that without them insect pests would 
soon make fruit growing and agriculture a practical im- 
possibility. They must learn to love their bird friends and 
protect them against their foes. Destroying eggs and 
young birds should be held up as a crime against nature. 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 171 

Severe punishment ought to follow every infraction of the 
school rules governing the subject. Moreover, the teacher 
can in so many ways encourage the children to provide 
nesting places for the birds by trimming down crotches in 
the trees, arranging dense shrubberies, and by building 
bird houses out of boards and boxes. 

It is really surprising how quick birds are to discern 
these small acts of kindness. Build a few bird houses in 
suitable places about the grounds, and in a few days wrens 
and bluebirds, chickadees and nuthatches will seek to 
become our tenants. Birds are cleanly and crave their 
daily bath — a large wooden bowl fastened at the end of a 
pole a few feet from the ground can be made to answer the 
double purpose of drinking fount and bathing pool. 
Crumbs from the dinner baskets will be very welcome, 
scattered near the bathing pool. A beautiful custom 
throughout northern Europe — and worthy of emulation 
among American school children — is to fasten sheaves 
of grain from poles on outbuildings or trees to feed the 
birds during winter or other seasons when there is a dearth 
of food. 

Toads and Toad Aquaria. — It is estimated that the com- 
mon toad is worth $19.88 each season alone for destroying 
cutworms (Kirkland's estimate, " The Common Toad," 
Bulletin No. 46, Hatch Experiment Station, Amherst, Mas- 
sachusetts). Under such circumstances it is not surpris- 
ing to hear that many large gardeners and horticulturists, 



172 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

especially in Europe, raise their own supply of toads by 
means of artificial aquaria. Toads can be raised suc- 
cessfully on the average school grounds, and the children 
will be made the better and wiser for it. There is no dan- 
ger of an overproduction, as the toads' enemies are many; 
besides, " its natural food supply, consisting wholly of 
insects, worms, slugs, and the like, would inevitably set 
a natural limit to its increase." 

The following interesting description of such aquaria 
is quoted from Hodge's Nature Study and Life and may 
be tried with profit in all rural schools: — 

Encourage as many children as possible to provide little pools in 
their gardens, stock them well with water lilies, pickerel weed, cat- 
tails, iris, and other of our interesting aquatic plants and put in as 
many toads' eggs or tadpoles as the pool will support. For this pur- 
pose a water-tight box or tub may be set in the ground, or a more 
natural pool may be made by arranging large flat stones around a 
hole in the ground and plastering up the cracks between them with 
water-lime cement. The top of any such receptacle should be two 
or three inches below the surface, and the earth well packed around 
the edges to prevent rains from splashing out its occupants. If 
natural food be not abundant, its place may be supplied by bits of 
dog biscuit, fresh meat, fish, or even bread, but care should be taken 
to put in no more than is eaten clean or to remove uneaten 
pieces before they foul the water. In this way, without appreciable 
expense, any child can raise toads by thousands, until many of our 
most injurious insect pests become curiosities. 

The two great obstacles most likely to be encountered in 
a movement to improve the school grounds are : (1) public 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 



J 73 



indifference and (2) untrained teachers. The latter 
obstacle will be obviated as soon as the rural teacher gets 
the agricultural training discussed elsewhere; meanwhile 
the solution of our difficulties may be sought in a cam- 
paign of education. 

A Campaign of Education. — The county superintendent 
or, in the East, the town or town district supervisor is the 




PUB L-IC 



ROAD 
-^ ft It & $ 



Fig. 7. — Plat of school grounds prepared by United States Department of 
Agriculture. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 218, gives complete planting direc- 
tions. Send for it. It is free. 



proper official to take hold of the matter. In the sections 
of the country where the movement has met with greatest 
success they have been at its head. As a first step the 
superintendent should make it a point to see that all his 



174 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

teachers and officers of the district boards are supplied 
with the many excellent bulletins on school-ground im- 
provement issued by the United States Department of 
Agriculture. The department will be glad to send the bul- 
letins to such addresses as the superintendent may supply. 
The list found at the end of this chapter contains some very 
good titles. The following are especially good and should 
be placed in the hands of every teacher and school officer: 
"Tree Planting on Rural School Grounds" (Farmers' 
Bulletin, No. 134) ; " The School Garden " (Farmers' Bul- 
letin, No. 218); "Annual Flowering Plants" (Farmers' 
Bulletin, No. 195) ; " The Lawn " (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 
248) ; and " Beautifying the Home Grounds " (Farmers' 
Bulletin, No. 185). 

The agitation once begun must be continued through 
circular letters, at the monthly meetings of teachers and 
school officers, and at special local meetings called by the 
superintendent to interest and organize the parents of the 
district. Only when the district adopts a policy of sys- 
tematic planting as a result of such meetings may the end 
sought after be attained. Let a special day be set aside 
for the first planting when the first steps shall be taken 
to carry out a carefully arranged plan. 

Arbor Day an Appropriate Time for Planting. — 
Arbor Day is an appropriate time to begin. Let it 
be made a gala day for the entire district, to be cele- 
brated with speech and song and tree planting. It should 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 



175 



be celebrated thoughtfully; for it is high time that the 
children should know that the prodigal abuse of our 

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Fig. 8. — Planting plan of Shirley School, Cherry Valley Township, Winne- 
bago County, 111. Six trees were planted the first year; others will be set 
out gradually until the plan is completed. From O. J. Kern's Annual 
Report. 

PLANTING PLAN 



1 Elm 


8 Spirea Van Houttei 


1? Bush Honeysuckle 


2 Sugar Maple 


9 Snowball 


16 Cranberry Tree 


3 Linden 


10 Japanese Barberry 


17 Red Branched Dogwood 


4 Catalpa 


11 Mock Orange 


18 Common Elder 


5 Ash 


12 Dwarf Mock Orange 


19 Woodbine 


6 Sycamore 


13 Weigela 


20 Bitter Sweet 


7 Hackberry 


14 Forsythia 


2 1 Woodbine or B itter Sweet 
at each fence post 



national forests has left our country well-nigh denuded 
of its one-time splendid timber wealth, and that knowing, 



176 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

they will early learn to do better than their fathers in 
the matter of conserving our forests by planting at 
home, on the school grounds, on the national forest 
reserve. 

President Roosevelt's letter to the American school 
children is to the point : — 

To the School Children of the United States : 

Arbor Day (which means simply "Tree Day") is now observed 
in every state in our Union — and mainly in the schools. At various 
times from January to December, but chiefly in this month of April, 
you give a day or part of a day to special exercises and perhaps to 
actual tree planting, in recognition of the importance of trees to us 
as a nation, and of what they yield in adornment, comfort, and use- 
ful products to the communities in which you live. 

It is well that you should celebrate your Arbor Day thoughtfully, 
for within your lifetime the nation's need of trees will become serious. 
We of an older generation can get along with what we have, though 
with growing hardship; but in your full manhood and womanhood 
you will want what nature once so bountifully supplied and man so 
thoughtlessly destroyed; and because of that want you will reproach 
us, not for what we have used, but for what we have wasted. 

For the nation, as for the man or woman and the boy or girl, the 
road to success is the right use of what we have and the improvement 
of present opportunity. If you neglect to prepare yourselves now 
for the duties and responsibilities which will fall upon you later, 
if you do not learn the things which you will need to know when 
your school days are over, you will suffer the consequences. So any 
nation which in its youth lives only for the day, reaps without sowing, 
and consumes without husbanding, must expect the penalty of the 
prodigal, whose labor could with difficulty find him the bare means 
of life. 

A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country 



NATURE STUDY; SCHOOL GROUNDS 1 77 

without trees is almost as hopeless; forests which are so used that 
they cannot renew themselves will soon vanish, and with them all 
their benefits. A true forest is not merely a storehouse full of wood, 
but, as it were, a factory of wood, and at the same time a reservoir of 
water. When you help to preserve our forests or to plant new ones, 
you are acting the part of good citizens. The value of forestry de- 
serves, therefore, to be taught in the schools, which aim to make 
good citizens of you. If your Arbor Day exercises help you to 
realize what benefits each one of you receives from the forests, and 
how by your assistance these benefits may continue, they will serve 

a good end. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
The White House, 
April 15, 1907. 

A SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS DEALING WITH 
NATURE STUDY AND SCHOOL GROUNDS 

1. Bailey, L. H. Nature Study Idea. Third edition, revised. 

The Macmillan Company, New York, 1909. pp. 255. 

2. Coon, Charles L. Geography, Nature Study, and Agriculture 

in the Elementary Schools. State Superintendent Public 
Instruction, Raleigh, N.C., 1905. pp. 32. 

3. Corbett, L. C. The School Garden. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 

218, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1905. 
pp. 40. 

4. Annual Flowering Plants. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 195, Depart- 

ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1904. pp. 48. 

5. The Lawn. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 248, Department of Agri- 

culture, Washington, D.C., 1906. pp. 20. 

6. Hall, William L. Tree Planting on Rural School Grounds. 

Farmers' Bulletin, No. 134, Department of Agriculture, Wash- 
ington, D.C., 1907. pp. 32. 

7. Hampton Nature Study Leaflets (especially No. 15), Hampton 

Press, Hampton, Va. 



178 THE 'AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

8. Hodge, C. G. Nature Study and Life. Ginn and Co., Boston, 

1902. pp. 514. 

9. Jewell, J. R. Agricultural Education, including Nature 

Study and School Gardens. Bulletin, No! 2, Department of 
the Interior, Washington, D.C., 1907. pp. 148. 

10. Lockhead, William. Outlines of Nature Studies. Bulletin, 

No. 142, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph. pp. 48. 

11. Stevens, F. L. A Course of Nature Study for the Teacher. 

State Superintendent Public Instruction, Raleigh, N.C., 1905. 

PP- 32. 

12. Wetham, CD. and W. CD. Studies in Nature and Country 

Life. Cambridge, England, 1903. pp. 125. 



CHAPTER X 

School Gardens 

Early School Gardens. — It is wrong to suppose that 
the school garden is a recent innovation. Several na- 
tions of antiquity maintained such gardens in which the 
sons of noblemen were taught first steps in horticulture. 
The Greeks held them in high esteem by reason of the 
aesthetic influence that they asserted. The immortal 
Plato taught his disciples in the famous Academic Garden 
near Athens; while Plato the broad-browed, in imitation 
of the master, taught the eager listeners under the shady 
oaks of the Lyceum Garden. Christian teachers of the 
Middle Ages gave garden culture a practical turn. In 
their monastery gardens they taught the ignorant peas- 
ants and their children practical horticulture and agri- 
culture, so that they might once again settle down to the 
arts of peace and till the war-trampled fields of Europe. 
All the great educators from Comenius to Froebel have 
emphasized the importance of nature study and school 
gardens. Thus Comenius held that " a garden should be 
connected with every school, so that children at times can 
leisurely gaze on trees, flowers, and herbs, and be taught 

179 



l8o THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

to enjoy them." It is no wonder that this man's native 
country, Moravia, should demand by law that every school 
in the land maintain a garden ! Froebel, who rejoiced in 
the teaching that "God's spirit lives in nature, bearing, 
shielding, unfolding," sought to impress upon his patrons 
that " children — of school age — should have gardens 
to cultivate. ... If the boy cannot have a garden of 
his own, at least a few plants in box or pots should be his." 
The work of these innovators has borne a remarkable 
fruit, and to-day in consequence thousands of flourishing 
school gardens are in operation all over Europe. 

The German States. — The German states have offered 
horticulture in their curriculum in some form for many 
years. In 1814 Schleswig-Holstein (then members of 
the Danish kingdom) paved the way by requiring rural 
schools to give instruction in fruit culture and vegetable 
growing. The village schools of Prussia introduced school 
gardens in 181 9, and other states followed the example 
in the course of time. It is worthy of emphasis that in 
Germany, as, indeed, in most European countries, the 
school garden movement began in the rural districts and 
not in the cities as with us in the United States. About 
1840 the larger German cities began to manifest an interest 
in school gardens. Berlin now maintains large gardens 
just outside the city limits, in which every child who ap- 
plies may have a small plat of its own. Wagon loads of 
flowers, twigs, and leaves from these gardens are daily 



SCHOOL GARDENS l8l 

furnished the nature-study classes throughout the capital. 
Other cities maintain similar gardens and large botanical 
gardens where the children may study a varied flora under 
expert horticulturists. 

Austria. — Austria and Sweden should have credit for 
being the first to establish the garden movement on a 
national basis. The Austrian imperial school law of 1869 
prescribes that "where practicable a garden and a place 
for agricultural experiment shall be established in every 
rural school." At the present time there are 20,000 school 
gardens in Austria-Hungary. It is said that in the large 
province of Styria every school has a well-kept garden. 
Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Dr. Erasmus 
Schwab, Vienna can boast school gardens excelled by none 
in the whole world. Hungary has made gardening and 
elementary agriculture obligatory in all schools from the 
sixth to the fifteenth year. 

Sweden. — In Sweden the royal promulgation of Octo- 
ber 15, 1869, required that at " every school a garden of 
from seventy to eighty square rods must be laid out." 
As a result, in 1894 there were 4670 flourishing school 
gardens in the kingdom; but, lately, sloyd and other forms 
of manual training have usurped this attention which was 
formerly bestowed upon garden culture, resulting in a 
considerable falling off in the number of gardens. 

France. — The French government began the move- 
ment right by first training teachers to " carry to the ele- 



182 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

mentary schools an exact knowledge of the soil, the means 
of improving it, the best methods of cultivation, the man- 
agement of a farm garden," etc. This was in 1880. Now 
more than one hundred normal schools are preparing 
teachers to go into the rural districts to demonstrate the 
economic value of elementary agriculture. In the neigh- 
borhood of 45,000 French rural schools are at the present 
time equipped with school gardens; although some of 
these are not used for school demonstration, but were 
established solely to supplement the teacher's income. 

Russia. — Russian school gardens originated imme- 
diately after Alexander II had emancipated his forty-six 
million serfs in 1861. Public gardens were established 
wherein the ignorant freedmen were taught to raise vege- 
tables, to care for fruit trees, silkworms^ and bees. After 
1887 itinerant gardeners were sent out by the Crown, who 
instructed rural teachers in agriculture and organized 
many school gardens. In 1905 the school gardens num- 
bered 8400, of which a considerable number were supplied 
with silkworm hatcheries and apiaries. 

Other European Countries. — Switzerland makes garden 
culture obligatory for graduation from all normal schools. 
The government pursues successfully a plan of subsidizing 
gardens in connection with the elementary school, and 
offers prizes to both pupils and teachers for practical 
themes on garden culture. As a result, horticulture in the 
republic has received a remarkable impetus. Bohemia 



SCHOOL GARDENS 



183 






H 



\- 



A. 



ToopSmwK 



oN a 



(\ 



wvxwwwvxwww 



Size about one quarter acre 
(grounds did not admit of usual 
size), surrounded by hedge of 
privet. 

A,B,C,D, seedlings of fruit 
trees. 

L, berries, stone fruits, bor- 
ders of mint. 

N, borders of cherries, 
gooseberries, sage. 



ORCHARD 

Potatoes planted between 
trees. 

5, borders of raspberries. 

U, plum trees. 

N, nuts, mountain ash box- 
thorn. 

A,P, apple and pear trees. 

O, beehives. 



Fig. 



■A plan of Russian school grounds of the elementary schools, exhibi- 
tion grounds at Nizhni- Novgorod, 1896. 



has fully 5000 school gardens, and her marvelous fruit crop 
is generally ascribed to expert school instruction. Belgium 
makes horticulture compulsory; the law requires every 
school in the kingdom to maintain a garden of at least 



184 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

thirty-nine and one half square rods. The government 
here, too, grants annual appropriations for the support of 
school gardens and offers prizes for excellence in horti- 
cultural study. Vegetable gardening has been reduced to 
a scientific system in this most densely populated of 
countries, which is scarcely equaled elsewhere — thanks 
to perfection in school gardening. 

The British Empire. — England alone of prominent 
European nations has been slow to take advantage of the 
garden movement. It is fair to state, however, that 
marked progress has been shown since the adoption, in 
1904, of a new course of study for all elementary schools, — 
a course in which nature study holds first place, — and 
grants are made to all schools maintaining school gardens. 
But strange as it appears under the circumstances, the 
British have been quick enough to see the value of school 
gardening in their colonial systems. Thus Jamaica, 
Ceylon, Natal, Tasmania, and the several states constitut- 
ing the commonwealth of Australia have school gardens 
in some form or other, not to mention Canada, which can 
boast the most complete system of school gardens in the 
Western Hemisphere. 

It may now be time to ask why we take space to enter 
into this somewhat lengthy portrayal of European school 
gardens. What is the purpose? What does it prove? 
In the first place it demonstrates that school gardening 
is nothing new, as thoughtful educators of all ages have 



SCHOOL GARDENS I 85 

realized its value. Then it makes clear that school gar- 
dening is not a fad seized upon by any one class of 
educators and horticultural enthusiasts, but is rather in- 
ternational in its scope and is made use of — and very 
successfully, too — in many and varied ways. 

Purposes of European School Gardens. — Sweden or- 
ganized a system of school gardens at a time when Swedish 
agriculture was sadly in need of governmental inspiration, 
teaching the peasantry scientific methods in horticulture 
and elementary agriculture. Prussia and Bohemia made 
the gardens extremely utilitarian, striving to promote 
a better knowledge of pomology. The same is true of 
France, Belgium, and the Netherlands; the practical 
ends sought were to teach more profitable methods in 
the culture of vegetables, flowers, and fruit. Austria 
and, of late, Denmark and England, have laid emphasis 
on the purely educational value, the training of heart 
and hand, making the utilitarian of secondary impor- 
tance. Hereto should be added that some countries, par- 
ticularly France, Germany, and Denmark, have made use 
of school gardens as a special means to augment the 
teacher's income. 

European Emigrant Farmers in Competition with Native 
Farmers. — The European peasants who come to our 
shores by hundreds of thousands have been trained from 
childhood in these schools. Their thrift and ability to 
surmount difficulties which have nonplussed and discour- 



1 86 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

aged the native American farmer go far to prove the value 
of early training in school gardening. The European 
farmer invariably outstrips the native because he has an 
almost innate (in-bred) gift for farming right. He 
knows how and when to fertilize the soil; how and when 
fall plowing should be done; how to look after the details 
and little things. It is indisputable that farmers from 
Germany, Denmark, Holland, Bohemia, and France have 
converted into thriving, well-built, and well-stocked farms, 
lands upon which the average American could not have 
subsisted. They are even now beginning to reclaim the 
deserted New England farmsteads, and will once more 
make them blossom as the rose. Nor should this success 
be attributed — as it so often is — to a lower scale of living 
on the part of the foreign-born farmer. The real secret 
of their success is thrift and knowledge of the essentials 
of scientific farming. Americans should take the lesson 
to heart, for in this respect Europeans can yet teach us 
important educational facts. 

History of School Gardens in the United States. — Mean- 
while, what are we accomplishing for the school garden in 
the United States? With us the school garden is not yet 
an integral part of the educational system, although some 
progress is being made through individual initiative. The 
cities were the first to take an interest in the work. The 
first school garden was established, in 1891, at the George 
Putnam School, Roxbury, Massachusetts, by Henry Lin- 



SCHOOL GARDENS 187 

coin Clapp, its master. " From 1891 to 1900 only wild 
flowers were cultivated here, but by the latter date Medford, 
Framingham, Hyannis, and other Massachusetts towns 
had made such a success of vegetable gardening in connec- 
tion with school work that the Putnam School put in a 
kitchen garden with 84 beds." 

Philanthropic organizations of different kinds have 
been back of this educational movement in the cities. 
In 1 901 the Twentieth Century Club of Boston established 
a school garden at the English High School of that city; 
and the following year] the Massachusetts Civic League 
provided 350 small gardens for school children throughout 
the state. The Civic Improvement League of St. Louis, 
The Chicago Committee on Vacation Schools, The Home 
Gardening Association of Cleveland, and many organiza- 
tions of a similar nature have accomplished much for school 
gardening and park construction in their respective cities. 
Probably some fifty of the larger cities in the United States 
are equipped with school gardens; among these may be 
mentioned Boston, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington, 
Worcester, Cleveland, New York City, Brookline (Mas- 
sachusetts), Yonkers, Philadelphia, and Hampton (Vir- 
ginia). Very few school gardens receive direct financial 
support from the local boards of education or may be 
considered as a part of the local educational system. 
Philadelphia, Cleveland, Rochester, and East Orange (New 
Jersey), are marked exceptions, as the board of education 



IOO THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

in each of these cities has made school gardening a part 
of the educational system. 

Practical Value of City School Gardening. — The follow- 
ing paragraph is from the pen of Superintendent O. J. 
Kern. It points out the value of school gardening in the 
city system and gives pertinent reasons why such schools 
are comparatively easier to maintain here than in rural 
districts : — 

It would seem that the school garden in cities should, of course, 
be a very rational means of supplementing the study of books, to 
say nothing of its aesthetic value in beautifying grounds. Also, 
many of the conditions there make it much easier to have successful 
school gardens. The school year is longer, and there are trained 
teachers with better salaries, teachers who have a high apprecia- 
tion of beauty and the value of nature study from nature. This 
sympathetic attitude is the result of their normal training, where, 
in a course covering two or three years, they are told how, in the 
most effective manner and with a minimum of "economic waste," 
they are to cultivate the child's "every incipient power." The city 
child does not come in contact with nature as does the country child; 
hence it is much easier to interest him. Also, there is a much more 
enlightened public sentiment in the cities, with their public libraries 
and art galleries. Public-spirited men and women give time and money 
to encourage the return to nature. Perhaps there is a greater need 
of this in the artificial life of cities. The school garden is not likely 
to suffer during dry summer vacations, for there are the janitor and 
the hydrant. And it is not surprising that such cities as Boston, 
Yonkers, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and others should 
achieve such great results when there are salaried expert supervisors 
who direct the work even in vacation time. And this work is of 
the highest educative value. Instead of cities building larger jails 



SCHOOL GARDENS 1 89 

and pointing with pride to such structures as the solution of the bad- 
boy problem, let more money be spent in farm schools, where the boy 
can get away from the slum back to the brown earth. Garden 
work is better than "bummin'." 

This is good, — garden work is better than " bummin'." 
What is more, there is an abundance of proof on record to 
demonstrate its practical value in strictly school work. 
James Ralph Jewell emphasizes this point in his excellent 
publication on " Agricultural Education," Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin No. 2, 1907), which he further sub- 
stantiates with abundant quotations. He says in part : — 

In the first place, in practically every school heard from directly 
they have given an interest to some scholars, probably to those of 
a predominantly motor type, to whom in the past the lessons in the 
books had meant little. A wholesome interest once aroused, the 
school work was more easily done. Were there no other advantage 
in this subject, it would be justified by this result in a country where 
we have few special schools for those a little slow or backward in 
their studies. But this is not all. Professor J. D. Hemenway, of 
Hartford, Connecticut, says: "It has been found that school garden- 
ing tends to inspire one to do better work in other branches. In Day- 
ton, Ohio, where school gardens have been conducted for six or seven 
years, boys taking gardening make 30 per cent more rapid progress 
in their studies than those without gardens." The increased effi- 
ciency in other school work has been noted in Philadelphia, Cleve- 
land, Hampton, and the Rice School in Boston. In the announce- 
ment of the department of children's gardens of the American Civic 
Association is the statement by Mr. Dick J. Crosby, of the office 
of Experiment Station, of Washington, that "experience has shown 
that devoting four or five hours a week, or even two hours a day, 
to nature study and gardening, if properly conducted, enables the 



I90 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

pupils to accomplish more in the remaining time than they formerly 
accomplished in the whole time spent in school." 

Even more to the point is the testimony of Mr. George 
lies in discussing the successful operation of school 
gardens in Canada. He writes : — 

Uniform examinations for entrance to high schools are held 
throughout Ontario in July. In 1906 in Carleton county from 
schools without gardens 49 per cent of the candidates were success- 
ful; from five Macdonald schools, where all candidates had been 
school gardeners for three consecutive years, 71 per cent were ad- 
mitted, mostly with high standing. As in all such education it was 
shown that when part of a school day is given to toil with the hands, 
at the bench, and out of doors, the book work at the desk takes on 
a fresh meaning, and inspires a new zest. 

Social-ethical Value of City School Gardening. — 

Garden culture has worked quite a miracle in the lives of 
children living in the slum quarters of our cities. The 
influence of trees and flowers in a social-ethical way is 
very remarkable. There is an old saying that in White- 
chapel — London's most vicious, squalid quarter — 
flowers cannot live and trees will not thrive. Or, to re- 
verse the statement: crime cannot thrive where sweet na- 
ture smiles. So in our cities school gardens have been a 
potent influence at work for civic righteousness. As the 
school garden invades the slums vice and squalor recede 
before it. On this point we have the testimony of Direc- 
tor Martin of the Philadelphia Bureau of Health, who 
writes: — 



SCHOOL GARDENS 191 

In the slums of Philadelphia I have found that in the houses 
where there are flowers — a result of our school gardens — there is 
neat cleanliness, although all around is squalor. 

And in regard to increased respect for property rights, 
to quote Mr. Jewell once more : — 

In Philadelphia the residents of Weccanoe Square themselves 
hooted at the idea of property rights being respected, yet only one 
hoe was stolen. There was no other loss during the season, and the 
police records show that crime diminished materially in the neigh- 
borhood. "The children of the vicinity were taken off the streets, 
even the big boys, at that formative period of 12 to 16, when so many 
begin to go to the bad." The children began to ask for books on 
gardening; this led to the formation of quite a little circulating library 
by the teachers, and not a book or magazine disappeared. 

Lack of space forbids further details on the value of 
city school gardens. But enough has already been said to 
determine its great importance as an educational agency 
in the city system. 

The rest of this chapter must now be devoted to school 
gardens in rural districts. 

Rural School Gardens. — It was mentioned elsewhere in 
this chapter that in Europe school gardens originated in 
connection with rural schools, chiefly for the practical end 
of making the peasants better farmers. Somehow, with 
us, the school garden has come to be the natural adjunct of 
the city school. There is a feeling that city children need 
the outdoor exercise and contact with nature which gar- 
dening affords much more than do country children; and 



192 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

that the latter will learn gardening and the rudiments of 
agriculture at home, anyway, as well or better than they can 
be taught in school. This is all very well, but is it borne out 
by fact? Does the average farm child learn enough to 
keep up with the procession in this country of increasing 
land values? Farm lands are getting too valuable for 
cheap farming. Can the average farmer teach his boy the 
best there is? Let the answer come from communities 
which practice school gardening. Concrete illustration 
proves beyond a shadow of doubt that " where a boy has 
learned at school to mix his agriculture with brains " 
he is able as a man to raise more farm produce, acre for 
acre, than his father ever did before him. Mr. Jewell 
exclaims very pertinently : — 

How many a farmer boy, who will practice farming all his life, 
goes through his life in the school and at home without knowing how 
the roots of corn spread out, or how to cultivate the corn properly 
to insure the largest yield, except as he follows what he sees others 
do and without knowing a hundred things of the kind which science 
is waiting for him to learn and utilize ? How many country boys 
have been given anything to think of as they hoe potatoes except 
that their city cousins are not blistering their hands so? 

Canada could furnish many illustrations of what school 
gardens are actually accomplishing for the farmer. For 
instance, in 1903, after three years of work in seed selection 
and careful cultivation in plots of ground at home and in 
school, " the yield of wheat thus sown and reaped was 
28 per cent heavier than that of three years before from 




\ii 



*€ 



It 1 • * 




•« j !.. I 



f^-*» • 



This remarkable picture illustrates school garden work at the Macdonald 
Consolidated School, Guelph, Canada, E. A. Howes, Principal. The time 
is June. 




s&m&mbSS&z 



The same garden at harvest time, in September. 



SCHOOL GARDENS 



193 



unselected seed; in oats the increase was 27 per cent, 
area for area." 



^^mm^^m^m^mm^^m^^^^^^m 




Fig. 



10. — Plan of Macdonald consolidated school grounds and gardens, 
Bowesville, Ontario, Canada. 



The province of Nova Scotia heads the list with 103 
school gardens in 1905. Other Eastern provinces estab- 
lished 25 gardens, 5 in each province, with the coming of the 




(194) 



Fig. ii. — Irrigated school garden at Gilpin, Colorado. 



SCHOOL GARDENS I 95 

Macdonald movement. Even the Northwest territories 
have established flourishing gardens in many communities. 
In the United States some very excellent gardens are main- 
tained as adjuncts of the same class of schools, although 
Superintendent Kern, of Winnebago county, Illinois, 
Superintendent Miller, of Keokuk county, Iowa, and many 
other enthusiastic workers whose aim is to better the 
conditions of the country child have demonstrated con- 
clusively that very successful school gardens may also be 
maintained in connection with the small one-room school. 

The United States Department of Agriculture places 
the number of gardens in operation in our country (1906) 
at 75,000. The Middle West, notably Illinois, Iowa, Min- 
nesota, and Wisconsin, have the largest number of rural 
gardens. Many other states, among them Michigan, 
Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, have comprehensive 
systems of school gardens. Even Colorado, in the heart 
of the Rockies, supports hundreds of successful gardens. 

Two Difficulties which must be Met. — Two difficul- 
ties must be met before school gardening can become 
an integral part of our educational system. They are: 

(1) general popular appreciation of their real value, and 

(2) trained teachers able to face and surmount any obsta- 
cles thrown in the way of their successful establishment. 

Popular appreciation is already on the increase. Many 
state normal schools and state agricultural colleges have 
lent willing hands and are doing much through bulletins 



196 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

and otherwise to call the farmers' attention to the impor- 
tance of the school garden in the rural school system. 
Farmers' institutes in several states have placed their official 
indorsement upon the movement. Farmer boys' corn 
clubs and similar organizations (see Chapter XI) are all 
doing much to rouse public interest. 

Training Teachers in Elementary Agriculture. — The 
secret of much of the immediate success and solidity at- 
tained by the school garden movement in Canada is easily 
explained. Its originators began in the right way by first 
training their teachers for the work to be accomplished. A 
number of provincial normal schools and Macdonald in- 
stitutes are engaged in training teachers for the increasing 
number of schools making provision for nature study 
and school-garden experiments. The Macdonald Institute, 
associated with the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph, 
has the finest equipment in the world for garden experi- 
ments and nature study. The school offers elective courses 
in these subjects free to all teachers. Four provincial 
governments have granted scholarships to this school, 
which have already enabled 200 teachers to take instruc- 
tion in the elective subjects. 

In the United States we are not so fortunately situated, 
since our millionaires have not yet come forward in 
imitation of Sir William Macdonald. In spite of this we 
are making a good beginning. Teachers who are already 
in the service have ample aids at their disposal for self- 



SCHOOL GARDENS 197 

instruction, if they choose to take advantage of them; and 
future teachers should have no difficulty to find a suitable 
institution where to receive their training. Several types 
of institutions which offer such training have been dis- 
cussed in the chapter on " The Rural Teacher : His Train- 
ing " and need not be repeated here. Dean L. H. Bailey 
classifies these institutions (Bureau of Education, Bulletin 
No. 1, 1908) under seven heads as follows: (i) state nor- 
mal schools; (2) local normal schools; (3) high schools 
and training classes; (4) separate agricultural schools; 

(5) special detached foundations for industrial work; 

(6) education departments of colleges and universities 
and teachers' colleges; and (7) agricultural colleges. 

Steps Preparatory to making the Garden. — Unless the 
teacher has taken instruction in the actual management 
of school gardens his success or failure will depend alto- 
gether on his own ingenuity in self-preparation. The 
first step would most likely be to read some good book 
or books on school gardens — dealing with their value, 
how to make them, course of instruction, etc. Then let 
him send to the Bureau of Education for a free list of bul- 
letins on the subject, gleaning from them such suggestive 
materials as they may contain. It is an excellent idea 
to get into touch, through correspondence usually, with 
philanthropic organizations engaged in furthering this 
movement throughout our country; they would give valu- 
able suggestions and might even furnish seeds and other 



I98 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

material help. State horticultural societies, state normal 
schools, and state agricultural colleges willingly send their 
bulletins, manuals, and courses of study. These will all 
be of value. Better still are excursions to school gardens 
already in operation; here the teacher may see with his 
own eyes what he has hitherto known in theory only. He 
should finally study the plan of some well-known school- 
garden system and adapt it to his own needs. H. D. 
Hemenway has published a book on " How to make School 
Gardens " (see suggestive list at end of chapter) , which con- 
tains an outline plan of the Oakdale School, of Dedham, 
Massachusetts. R. H. Cowley, Inspector of Schools, has 
written instructively on the Macdonald School Gardens in 
the Queen's Quarterly for 1905. These school gardens are 
too complex for the ordinary one-room school, but are so 
full of hints which can be made use of that all teachers 
should read the articles. We quote below such portions 
of Cowley's outline plan of the school gardens and grounds 
of the Bowesville Consolidated School, of Bowesville, 
Ontario, as are deemed of especial value to beginners in 
school gardening: — 

Bowesville, Ontario, School Gardens : General Plans. — While 
the plan of laying out the gardens varies according to soil, surface, 
and location, the outline of the Bowesville garden on page 193 
suggests the general features that have been kept in view. These 
include a belt of ornamental native trees and shrubs surrounding 
the grounds; two walks, each about one hundred yards long, be- 
tween rows of trees ; a playground of about half an acre for the girls. 



SCHOOL GARDENS 



I99 



bordered with some light and graceful shade, such as cut-leaf birch; 
a small orchard, in which are grown a few varieties of the fruit trees 
most profitable to 



THREE FOOT WALK.. 



the district; a forest 

plot, in which the 
most important Ca- 
nadian trees will be 
grown from seed 
and by transplant- 
ing; a plot for cul- 
tivating the wild 
herbs, vines, and 
shrubs of the dis- 
trict; space for in- 
dividual plots and 
special experimen- 
tal plots; and at- 
tractive approach to 
the school, includ- 
ing open lawn, large 
flowering plants, 
foliage, rockery, or- 
namental shrubs, 
etc. 

Dr. Robert- 
son, the director 
of the Mac- 

donald move- 

merit, lays great FlG , 
stress on " spe- 



J 

$ 

O 
O 

fc. 

O 



CORN 



-COR. NT. 
.. BEANS. 
.-BEANS- 



• MELONS- 



-POTATOES 

...PEAS 

--PEAS --- 

-BEETS-- 

BEETS-. 



-CUCUMBERS- .. 

...LETTUCE 

- -LETTUCE .. 

... .RADISHES — 

. ...RADISHES.-- 

- -FLOWERS...- 



^ 



N9 2 



N93 



■ Planting plan of an individual school 
garden. 



cial experimental plots " wherein experiments of a highly 
instructive character are carried on, covering many simple 



200 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

lessons in what he pleases to call the tripod of good farm- 
ing: " (i) sowing selected seed on prepared soil; (2) pro- 
tecting crops against insects and fungous diseases; (3) a 
rotation of crops adapted to the soil and to the markets." 
In his report Mr. Cowley continues: — 

Experimental Plots and Individual Plots. — The special experi- 
mental plots are, as a rule, larger than the individual plots. They 
are used for such purposes as the study of rotation of crops, values 
of fertilizers, effects of spraying, selection of seeds, merits of soils, 
productiveness and quality of different varieties of crops, and many 
other similar subjects. At one school a special study was made 
of corn, clover, tomatoes, and cabbage; at another beans, peas, 
beets, and potatoes occupied the experimental plots; at still an- 
other some extra attention was given to plots of pumpkins, squash, 
cabbage, and cauliflower. At all the gardens special plots will be 
devoted to small fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, goose- 
berries, currants. The experimental plots vary in area from two 
hundred to two thousand square feet, but where the quantity of 
ground is restricted, the experiments may be successfully carried 
out on plots of much smaller average size. 

A last quotation from Mr. Cowley's report sheds new 
light on the perplexing question of what to do with the 
school gardens during the summer vacation : — 

The School Garden during Vacation. — There is no insur- 
mountable difficulty or very serious problem in keeping the 
school garden decent during the long summer vacation. Even if 
the garden were to deteriorate from neglect during holidays, the fact 
would be of altogether minor consequence against school gardens, 
since a well-ordered pupil rather than a well-ordered garden is the 
supreme end of it all. If the pupils do not provide for their plots 



SCHOOL GARDENS 201 

during vacation, by all means let the weeds grow. The worst 
possible mistake in such a case would be to pay a janitor or some other 
person to take care of the plots for indifferent and unmindful pupils. 
At some school gardens in Carleton county last summer some pupils 
returned after vacation to weed-choked plots in which their flowers 
and vegetables compared very unfavorably with those of their more 
diligent companions. Their silent observation of this fact and 
their strenuous efforts to redeem their plots impressed upon them 
a lesson of moral and material value. 

How to arrange the Garden. — The accompanying out- 
line represents the author's personal ideas of a practical 
school garden and grounds. It is a garden connected with 
such a ground as described in the previous chapter. The 
garden occupies the rear one third of the entire area used for 
school purposes and is inclosed by living hedge or strong 
fence. To obviate any objection that may be raised to a 
hedge fence — which is known to draw much nourishment 
from the soil adjacent to it — fruit trees and such bush 
growths as raspberries and blackberries occupy the ground 
next to the hedge. The garden is furnished with a turnstile 
entrance from the school grounds and with a large gate on 
the side next to the road to admit the plow team, if such 
is used. 

The size of the garden will depend upon the number of 
pupils, the size of the school ground area, and other local 
conditions. If the grounds are ample and the attendance 
small, the orchard and experimental plots may be propor- 
tionately increased. The outline plan contemplates an 



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Fig. 13. — School garden occupying rear one third of entire grounds. Key: 
A, apple; P, plum; R, raspberry; S, strawberry; 1 to 14, girls' garden; 
15 to 28, boys' garden. (202) 



SCHOOL GARDENS 203 

orchard of apples, cherries, plums, etc., flanked on either 
side by berry patches. The experimental plot contains a 
patch devoted to the culture of seedlings where experi- 
ments are carried on in budding, grafting, etc. The 
other patches are used for experimentation in soils and 
fertilizers, seed selection, and rotation of crops. The main 
body of the garden is divided into as many individual plots 
as there are pupils, including one for the teacher who 
should not fail to work with the children. 

The general management of the school garden must rest 
with the teacher, but the school board should be ready to 
advise him and furnish teams for plowing, hauling trees 
and shrubs from the woods, and in other ways lend their 
assistance. A committee composed of older boys and girls 
may be held responsible for the garden during vacation, 
or Mr. Cowley's suggestions set forth above may be 
followed. 

A SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS DEALING WITH 
SCHOOL GARDENS 

1. Annual Reports, Home Gardening Association, Cleveland, Ohio, 

1903-1906. 

2. Bailey, L. H. On the Training of Persons to teach Agriculture 

in the Public Schools. Bulletin, No. 1, Department of the 
Interior; Bureau of Education, Washington, D.C., 1908. 

PP- 53- 

3. Baldwin, W. A. School Gardens and their Relation to Other 

School Work. American Civic Federation, 1905. pp. 15. 

4. Corbett, L. C. The School Garden. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 



204 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

218, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1905. 
pp. 40. 

5. Cowley, R. H. The Macdonald School Gardens. Queen's 

Quarterly (Kingston, Canada), 1905. pp. 390-419. 

6. Crosby, D. J. Bibliography on Nature Study, School Garden- 

ing, and Elementary Agriculture for Common Schools. Office 
of Experiment Stations, Circular No. 52, revised, Washing- 
ton, D.C. pp. 4. 

7. Hemenway, H. D. How to make School Gardens. Doubleday, 

Page and Co., New York, 1903. pp. 159. 

8. Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Communities. Report 

Committee of Five, N.E.A., 1905. pp. 97. 

9. Jackman, W. S. School Gardens. The Elementary School- 

teacher and Course of Study, Vol. 2. pp. 573-578. 

10. Jewell, J. R. Agricultural Education, Including Nature Study 

and School Gardens. Bulletin, No. 2, Department of the 
Interior; Bureau of Education, Washington, D.C, 1907. pp. 
148. 

11. Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools (specially chapter on 

school gardens). Ginn and Co., Boston, 1906. pp. 366. 

12. School Gardens. Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin, No. 

160, Washington, D.C, 1905. pp. 47. 



CHAPTER XI 
Elementary Agriculture and Industrial Clubs 

Nature study and school gardens have proved the open 
sesame in the relation of school life to community life. 
They, as much as anything else, have been instrumental 
in getting educators to recognize the essential relation of 
head, heart, and hand. Now it remains for elementary 
agriculture — so far as the rural schools are concerned — 
to make complete this growing understanding of oneness 
in aim between school and home. 

Agriculture the Dominant Interest in the Rural Com- 
munity. — Educational systems are made for man, and 
not man for educational systems; and what these systems 
shall embrace must necessarily be governed by the domi- 
nant interest of the community. Manual training has 
successfully fought its way to a prominent place in the 
city curriculum because a large proportion of our urban 
population sees in it a vital interest for their children, in 
offering them first-step preparation in their life work, 
giving them a wholesome respect for it. In farm com- 
munities, where a majority of rural children are bound to 
remain all their life and there work out their destiny, the 

205 



2o6 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

most vital interest is undeniably agriculture. Give to rural 
education an increasing agricultural trend, and we shall 
soon be in a fair way to solve the rural school problem. 

Heretofore the rural schools have drawn their inspira- 
tion from the city schools. Thence came their teachers 
and ideals, their curricula and text-books. Thitherward 
lay all their aspirations and strivings, to the belittlement 
of farm life and all that to it belonged. Let, then, the 
rural school of to-day face its pupils toward the township 
and county high schools with their agricultural instruction, 
the eventual aim being to prepare them for entrance to 
the agricultural college or immediately for the practical 
tasks of the farm. 

Objections to this Agricultural Trend not Insuperable. — 
Naturally enough such an innovation — we might almost 
have said revolution — has its opponents who find it 
visionary and impractical. They argue that such schemes 
of educating for the farm have been tried in other coun- 
tries and failed; that the rural curriculum is crowded 
with essentials as it is; and that, moreover, we lack teach- 
ers properly equipped to cope with the difficulties of the 
situation. Such objections, while in part well taken, are 
not insuperable; and, if all the facts were told, have been 
successfully surmounted in many instances both abroad 
and in sections of our own country. 

Elementary Agriculture in European Schools. — The 
European countries which have taken a lead in nature study 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 207 

and school gardens have, generally speaking, continued 
this work in a more advanced form under the name of 
elementary agriculture. That such innovations have not 
always been successful proves nothing. The causes of 
failure are easily pointed out and may in future be avoided. 
The lack of trained teachers is, as before stated, the chief 
cause of failure; but this is already being remedied by 
offering, and indeed very often making obligatory, agricul- 
tural courses in the state normal schools, and other train- 
ing schools for teachers. Past failures can only point the 
way to eventual success. 

France. — France has offered optional courses in agricul- 
ture in its primary schools ever since 1879. The French 
farm boy begins with object lessons at seven years of age, and 
at nine takes up the "first ideas" of agriculture. There- 
after he continues gradatim study of the hygiene of man 
and animals, of vegetable physiology, and plant chemistry. 
In short, he pursues a rational course " requiring the exer- 
cise of the intellectual faculties as well as labor with the 
hands." The girls learn domestic economy, hygiene, 
and horticulture, and get such training as shall make them 
adepts in dairying, garden culture, and poultry raising. 
This training has already had a marked influence upon 
this great agricultural nation — so striking indeed has it 
been that to deny its efficiency would be absurd. 

Belgium and Holland. — But France does not stand 
alone in this field. Belgium has within the last fifteen 



208 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

years developed a system of agricultural education unex- 
celled anywhere. Agricultural theory and practice are 
taught as a part of the regular rural school curriculum. 
To meet the demand for efficient teachers all the state 
normal schools in the kingdom offer courses in agriculture. 
The government has been remarkably successful in meet- 
ing local needs and solving local problems. For prac- 
tical application of agricultural teaching Belgium stands, 
perhaps, first among European nations. 

In Holland the work is given a marked nature-study 
trend; however, it includes enough of things agricultural 
to permit graduates from the rural schools to enter second- 
ary agricultural schools. 

Denmark. — Denmark illustrates in a striking way what 
elementary agriculture in the rural school can do for a 
people. As a result of the disastrous war with Prussia 
and Austria, in 1864, the small kingdom lost two of its 
most prosperous provinces. Danish hopes of political 
prominence were thenceforth blasted; but with a zeal 
born of despair the people set to work to make amends for 
lost territory by developing to the utmost what was left. 
Wonders have been wrought. Swamps have been drained, 
and sandy heaths planted and redeemed. Agriculture 
and horticulture have become scientific and intensive. 
Danish farm products — butter, cheese, fruit, vegetables, 
and meats — receive the top prices in the world markets 
on account of unequaled quality. And this story begins in 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 209 

the rural schools. Elementary agriculture, under various 
names, is taught in every rural district. Here the young 
Danes get their love for the soil, and thus inspired, con- 
tinue their higher agricultural education in the several 
kinds of Landboskoler (agricultural schools). 

Other Countries. — Other European countries, as Ger- 
many, Austria, and Switzerland, teach elementary agri- 
culture chiefly in separate schools established for this 
purpose, and therefore need not be mentioned in our 
discussion. Norway, Sweden, and Finland offer prac- 
tical courses in a number of elementary schools; Servia and 
Portugal, too, are accomplishing tangible results. Even 
Japan is alive to the possibilities to come from practical 
study of agriculture. This progressive nation has already 
over 500 schools for the teaching of agriculture. 

The British Empire. — The United Kingdom has been 
just as backward in the matter of introducing agriculture 
into the schools of the islands as she was about nature 
study and school gardens. Prior to the adaptation of the 
New Code of 1904 nothing worth the mention was ac- 
complished. Under the new provisions the outlook is 
decidedly brighter. 

But England has pursued a wiser policy with her 
colonies. In the British West Indies, for instance, ele- 
mentary agriculture is taught in the lower schools, the 
system being similar to that used in the French rural 
schools. The Straits Settlements, Ceylon, Malta, etc., 



2IO THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

make use of agricultural primers in the schools. South 
Africa and the Australian commonwealth are making 
remarkable progress. In the latter Victoria offers nature- 
study courses of a decidedly agricultural trend; South 
Australia teaches agriculture as a " specific study in the 
country schools"; and agricultural bulletins are published 
in all the colonies free (save postage) to all who care for 
them. 

The United States. — In turning to our own hemisphere 
and the United States it is really unnecessary to repeat 
what Canada is doing in elementary agriculture. Enough 
has already been said under the head of school gardens. 
Let it suffice here that the example set by the Canadian 
government and the Macdonald movement in their un- 
precedented success in bettering and increasing the yield 
of farm crops and dairy products, through first lessons in 
the rural schools, should be emulated and imitated in our 
own country; for we as a nation have not yet accomplished 
much " so far as formal agricultural instruction in rural 
schools is concerned." 

Yet Mr. Jewell — in his treatise on " Agricultural 
Education " — sees cause for much encouragement in 
what has already been done. He points out " that such 
an agricultural innovation in our school system must 
necessarily work its way slowly, since with us it is not 
put in practice the country over by the government, 
as is the case in Europe." It is well to remember also 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 211 

that agitation, at least in the rural schools, is of very recent 
origin; it began in earnest not more than eight or ten years 
ago! And it is not putting facts too strongly to say that 
no one problem of an educational nature now before the 
public interested in the welfare of our rural population 
receives more consideration than does this very agricultural 
education. 

Rapid Spread of Movement — North and South. — The 
great Middle West and Northwest were first in the field, 
and they, therefore, carry off the palm for real accom- 
plishment, though the Southern states do not lag far be- 
hind. In one respect the South takes the lead — i.e. in 
making agricultural instruction in rural schools obligatory 
under law. Seven states — Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas 
— have such requirements. Other states elsewhere having 
similar laws are Maine, Maryland, South Dakota, and 
Wisconsin. But most promising is the emphasis being 
laid on preparation to teach agriculture. Alabama, 
Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, 
North Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin, 
before granting certificates to teach, require teachers to 
pass an examination in agriculture. More than sixty 
state normal schools throughout the country offer prepa- 
ration for such examinations. Numerous county train- 
ing schools and county training classes, and special 
normal and agricultural high schools, as shown in the 



212 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

chapter on "The Rural Teacher : His Training," are pre- 
paring a host of teachers for local needs. Georgia has just 
organized eleven such agricultural high schools, one for 
each congressional district, the sole aim of which shall 
be to prepare agriculturally trained teachers for rural 
schools. (See Appendix.) 

Interest of the Agricultural Colleges in the Movement. 
— The agricultural colleges are taking a marked interest 
in the introduction of agriculture into our public schools. 
The interest, which, of course, is very natural in schools of 
this class, is on the rapid increase. Just how compre- 
hensive it is can best be realized by a study of the following 
succinct outline from the pen of Professor E. E. Balcomb, 
Department of Agriculture and Physical Science, Weather- 
ford, Oklahoma. (See N. E. A. Report, 1907, pp. 1069- 
1075) : ~ 

New Hampshire is cooperating with the state superintendent; 
introducing agriculture into the common and secondary schools. 

Kansas, Pennsylvania, Florida, and New Mexico are lecturing 
to create a sentiment for it; Kansas has an assistant to the director 
detailed to this work. 

President Scott, of Oklahoma, urges consolidation of schools as 
the best means of popularizing agriculture. 

Massachusetts and Iowa have just elected men for organiz- 
ing and directing and inspiring superintendents, principals, and 
teachers. 

Colorado is planning to get a bill two years hence requiring 
elementary agriculture for public schools and more advanced for 
high schools. Five county high schools have courses. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 213 

Maryland is trying to come into close contact with the country 
school boards and teachers, and is seeking to obtain appropriations 
for introducing agriculture into high schools. 

President Bryan, of Washington, desires to see agriculture per- 
meate common schools, not separate agricultural high schools, but 
agriculture in all the high schools. 

Indiana is interesting the state board in agriculture for the public 
schools. 

New Jersey is cooperating with the state board in planning a 
curriculum for agricultural courses in high schools and also in the 
establishment of summer courses for teachers. 

Illinois has been developing and planning courses in agriculture for 
secondary school^work and for the country schools. Professor Bar- 
tow: "I believe agriculture in public schools will be supplemented 
and supervised by agricultural colleges through supervisors who visit 
the schools." 

Maine helps with gardens in some sections. She has a man 
engaged for next year who will spend his time helping teachers in 
their schools. 

Montana is cooperating in establishing courses in high schools. 
Two have such courses, and others are investigating. 

Ohio is giving her attention to the public school work. She has 
a superintendent of agriculture in elementary grades. One fifth 
of the high schools are giving it in science courses. 

In Missouri Professor Waters says, "We consider the introduction 
of agriculture in the primary and secondary schools the most im- 
portant extension work in agriculture that can be undertaken. 
To reach the country school we are arranging to hold a series of 
one-day meetings in every school of several counties, demonstrating 
and lecturing to pupils, teachers, and patrons." 

California encourages agriculture in the schools. She has in- 
fluenced the establishment of a secondary school of agriculture. 

New York, as early as 1902, was actively engaged in several lines 
of activity, all bearing directly on agricultural education. 



214 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

It may now be time to raise the question : Just what work 
in agriculture may the small rural school reasonably be 
expected to teach? 

What may reasonably be expected of the One-room 
School. — The Committee on Industrial Education in 
Schools for Rural Communities, in its report to the 
N. E. A., comes to the conclusion — 

That in existing one-room district schools a limited amount of 
nature study and work in the elements of agriculture, and hand 
work for both boys and girls may be undertaken; that in view of 
the quality of the teaching force available for these schools, the im- 
maturity of the greater number of the pupils, the crowded condition 
of the programme, and the lack of adequate supervision, but little can 
be expected in the way of industrial education in this class of schools; 
but where enthusiastic teachers qualified for the work and pupils 
of sufficient maturity are brought together in the same school, some- 
thing worth while may be accomplished, and that the effort for such 
accomplishment should certainly be made. 

And further, on page 25 : — 

It is evident that before this phase of industrial education can be 
made a success in the one-room district schools, several things must 
be accomplished: there must be a body of teachers with special 
training for this work; second, pupils must remain longer in school; 
third, there must be a kind of work undertaken which shall be 
adapted to local conditions and limited to the capacity of pupils 
who are to take it; this involves a wise determination of what should 
be undertaken in any locality, both as to the scope and method. 

Some Objections Answered. — The committee report is 
now three years old. Since 1905 many facilities have 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 215 

been added which will provide the necessary trained 
teachers. This should dispose of the first objection. 

As to the second point, the way to make the pupils 
remain longer in school is to offer them a course of study 
" which," to use the committee's own words, " appeals 
to his own interests or to the interests of those with whom 
he is concerned." This nature study and elementary 
agriculture will do if properly taught. A careful study 
of statistics shows " that the introduction of agriculture 
into the rural schools of France and Belgium has caused 
parents to keep their children in school from one to three 
years longer." And why should not the same results 
obtain in our country? As to the third objection; this 
would, it seems to me, hold good in any kind of a school, 
large or small. The character and scope of the work 
must necessarily be within the range of the pupil's 
powers, or failure will follow. 

The objections seem thus in great measure to take care 
of themselves. 

In Appendix C is outlined the committee's scheme for 
nature-study work, covering the first five years in school. 
Thenceforward the work must be in the nature of ele- 
mentary agriculture, much as suggested by the same com- 
mittee, page 45 : — 

After the explicit nature study ceases with the fifth grade, the 
pupil in the rural school may then be taken through the elements 
of agriculture in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The work 



2l6 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

in these three grades should really be nature study, but agricultural 
subjects are the means. Some will prefer to call it nature study 
rather than agriculture. Its purpose is not so much to teach definite 
science as to bring the pupil into relation with the objects and affairs 
that are concerned with the agriculture of his region. When the 
pupil has completed his nature study in the fifth grade, he should 
have a good knowledge of the physiography of his region, and of the 
common animals and plants. He will then be able to carry his 
inquiries into the more specific field of the agricultural practice and 
operations. When he has completed his eighth year, he should 
have a well-developed sympathy with agricultural affairs, and he 
should have a broad, general view of them. Entering the high school, 
he will then be able to take up some of the subjects in their distinctly 
scientific phases. (See Appendix.) 

What is actually accomplished in One-room Schools. — 

But are these things actually accomplished in the one- 
room school? Assuredly. Concrete examples are not 
wanting. Very many of the 75,000 or more school gardens 
in the United States are maintained in connection with 
one-room schools, a majority of which do some study along 
agricultural lines. They are found in every part of the 
country, from the Atlantic to the crest of the Rockies, 
and beyond to the Pacific. In Las Animas county, Colo- 
rado, there are, according to latest reports, one hundred 
and fifty school gardens, many being used as a basis for ag- 
ricultural study. Throughout the entire Middle West and 
sections of the South the small schools have taken hold of 
the work, thanks to the Kerns and Millers, the Portses and 
Fitches who labor so zealously to better rural conditions. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 217 

Space forbids any lengthy details here. Yet we cannot 
forego the pleasure of bringing an illustration from New 
York State. It is quoted by Dean Bailey in his pamphlet 
on " Training for Teachers in Agriculture." The teacher 
in question is H. H. Lyon. Says Mr. Bailey : — 

The teacher has been successful in interesting his pupils in various 
experiments and tests that have relation to farming. He gives all 
the pupils nature-study work, including the younger ones. Sug- 
gestions are had from books, from the state syllabus, and perhaps 
quite as frequently from something that happens for the time to 
be interesting the school or the community. He is introducing 
practical local problems into the arithmetic work. He suggests 
that if ten or twenty-five schools could work together in arithmetic, 
geography, and other subjects, thereby making it worth while for 
examination questions to be asked on these new lines of work, the 
results would be very marked. (For problems made use of by 
Mr. Lyon see Appendix.) 

Susie Miller, an Indiana Rural School Pupil, on Agri- 
culture. — Here is a letter written by a pupil in the eighth 
grade of the Center School, Taylor township, Howard 
county, Indiana. It shows the children at work and their 
interest in the new subject : — 

We started our laboratory the second week of school. We have 
never taken part in this work before. Our schoolroom seems more 
like home with our laboratory. It is in the northwest corner of the 
room and consists of flowers and vegetables. 

We have several kinds of soil. They are : clay, humus, an or- 
ganic matter, the sandy, the rich garden soil and stable garden soil, 
and the mulched clay. The mulch was gotten from an old fence 
row. 



2l8 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

The girls brought several kinds of flowers: verbenas, geraniums, 
cactus, scarlet sage, and many others. There are a number of 
vegetable plants; such as, mango, radish, corn, tomato, wheat, and 
beans. 

We take each plant separately as we perform our experiments. 
Some of our experiments are as follows: we planted a grain of 
wheat and saw that the roots started first, then the sprout and both 
grew together. The same was discovered with corn and beans. 
Then we put a sweet potato in a glass and filled it about two thirds 
full of water so it would sprout and raise new plants. There was 
also a sweet potato put in the ground and sprouted. 

Some one was requested to get a radish from a garden that was 
just ready to go to seed. When we set it out, the radish was hard and 
full of food for the stalk, but as it grew it became pithy, for the stalk 
had used all this food during its growth. The teacher then asked 
another pupil to get a blackberry sprout. He cut the top of it off 
and set it out. It immediately took new root and is now thriving 
in its new soil. The experiment is one for the formation of new 
shoots or buds. 

One of the pupils tried an electrical experiment by bringing a 
tomato plant in contact with an electrical current. It was applied 
to the root and one branch of the plant. The application of elec- 
tricity to a plant inspires new life in the plant and causes a more 
vigorous growth. 

Our work has only begun, and we hope to get greater results from 
it. It is a very interesting and profitable study. 

We have quoted New York and Indiana; now for a 
leap to a district school in southeastern Nebraska. This 
instance of informal work in agriculture and domestic 
science is quoted from E. C. Bishop's paper on Agricul- 
tural Education without Equipment (N. E. A. Report, 
1907) : — 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 219 

District No. 29, Pawnee County, Nebraska. — District No. 29, 
the Lower West Branch School, is a rural school in Pawnee county 
eight miles southwest of Pawnee City. From twenty to twenty-five 
pupils are enrolled, and a class of from one to four pupils graduate 
from the eighth grade each year. The school building is the ordinary 
box-car form, but kept in good repair. The school children collected 
stones and made borders for flower beds in front and at one side of 
the building. They also trained vines over the outbuildings and 
maintained a small experimental garden. At intermission periods 
the teachers and pupils talked over plans by which they might learn 
to cook and to sew, to make various articles, and to cultivate certain 
plants. Recipes were sought and distributed, each girl learned to 
make bread and other common articles of diet, to can fruit, to sew, 
and to cultivate flowers and vegetables. The boys took interest 
in corn and potato-growing and other lines that especially appealed 
to the individual. At the county corn contests and at the state 
contests this school is always represented by creditable exhibits 
in the various lines of work and by delegates sent by the school to 
attend the meeting. The teacher, Miss Lulu Wolford, was re- 
employed each year at an advanced salary. Her school ranks among 
the very best in the county and in the state in the quality of work 
done in the regular branches. The community has been much 
benefited in the interest taken by the young people in the work of 
the home. The school has been much benefited by the interest 
awakened among the patrons of the school. 

Working Aids: Books, Bulletins, etc. — The teacher 
should not fail in his work for want of books and other aids 
on agriculture. He may have the ability and ingenuity 
to adapt his course to local needs, as does Mr. Lyon. If 
he is less self-reliant, he can find ample assistance in the 
many really practical text-books on the subject (see sug- 
gestive list at end of chapter). Then the states making 



220 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



the study of agriculture in the schools obligatory, as well 
as others not yet making it a requirement, publish more or 
less complete working outlines to be used by pupils and 



Field n - 8 A 

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Fig. 14. — A forty acre farm. The drawing illustrates specific rotation of crops. 
The scientific application of rotation to crops has begun to play an im- 
portant r61e in modern farming. (After Minnesota School Agriculture.) 

teachers. New York, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, 
Nebraska and many other states prepare such courses. 

In many schools where school gardening and agricultural 
experimentation could not be pursued for sufficient reasons, 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 221 

teachers and county superintendents have encouraged 
home gardening and experimentation with field crops. 
Superintendent Laura Fitch, of Lucas county, Iowa, has 
long been an ardent advocate of this plan for drawing the 
farm home closer to the school. Her efforts have been 
crowned with success. Hundreds of rural school children 
have been encouraged to make home gardens in connection 
with their school work. In fact, it has made them more 
interested in their school work than ever before. These 
home gardens have the advantage of getting good care 
during the vacation months. In the fall of the year a 
three days' school fair is held at the county seat, at which 
time the garden products are exhibited and judged by 
representatives from the state college at Ames. Lectures 
are also given of especial interest to the girls and their 
mothers on household economy, horticulture, floriculture, 
and kindred themes. 

Origin of Boys' and Girls' Industrial Clubs. — The above 
is one of the many ways in which boys' agricultural clubs 
and girls' household economy clubs have come into exist- 
ence. In Macoupin county, Illinois, the clubs originated 
in quite another way. Interest in the annual farmers' 
institute had been lagging. The farmers somehow took 
no real interest in the organization. At this juncture its 
president introduced a happy innovation : — 

He advertised that he would send free to any farmer boy who 
applied as much of the finest seed corn procurable in the state as 



222 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



a one-cent stamp would carry; the boys to exhibit their product at 
the annual meeting of the farmers' institute and receive small prizes 
for the best corn raised. Five hundred boys responded. When 
the time for the meeting came, the farmers were told they might stay 
away if they cared to. This meeting was for the boys, who were 

there by scores with their 
corn. It was judged by 
an expert from the state 
agricultural college and 
pronounced as "fine a dis- 
play of corn as he ever had 
seen." But the farmers 
themselves were there, too, 
— over 500 of them, — ■ 
and the problem had 
been solved. 

This was in 1901. 
Superintendents and 
others organized simi- 
lar clubs. The schools 
took up the scientific 
study of corn; school 
gardens and experi- 
mental plots multiplied, and before long the movement 
had spread to other states. 

Influence of Such Organizations upon Education. — 
No expedient made use of in recent years by educators, 
in their efforts to solve the farm problem, has met 
with so universal approval as has the industrial club. 
It appeals, to the average farmer's self-interest. He is 




Fig. 15. — The corn plant. The drawing illus- 
trates proper rooting. (After Minnesota 
School Agriculture.) 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 223 

quick to recognize its value by tangible results. Likely 
enough, he may experience defeat in the corn contest at 
the hands of his own sons, whose corn commands $2 per 
bushel, while his own brings the customary 75 cents. But 
then it gives a certain satisfaction to be defeated by one's 
own offspring! Such farmers will become the stanch 
supporters of the new schools, and " pull " for a better 
cooperation between farm and school. The influence of 
the industrial clubs on the education of the farm youth 
can hardly be overestimated. They are rearing the na- 
tion a new generation of scientific farmers. " The boys," 
according to Mr. Dick J. Crosby, of the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture, " have learned to observe more 
closely the crops and things affecting the crops; they have 
met and learned to solve some of the problems in the 
improvement of crops; they have learned to keep sim- 
ple accounts, to read good literature, and to know the 
sources of agricultural literature; their views have broad- 
ened by contact with others and by visiting institu- 
tions of learning, and finally the power of taking the 
initiative has in many cases been strongly developed in 
them." 

This educational influence has spread from Minnesota 
to Texas, from Pennsylvania to Colorado. State and 
local boards of education, state universities and some ex- 
positions and individual superintendents vie with each 
other in fostering the movement. 



224 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

General Plan of Boys' Corn Clubs illustrated in the 
Hamilton County, Indiana, Club. — Indiana has a well- 
developed system of agricultural education in the schools. 
Its county superintendents report a well-sustained interest 
in local corn clubs and educational excursions, the latter 
forming an excellent means of acquaintanceship between 
the rural schools and higher agricultural institutions. 
State Superintendent Fassett A. Cotton's annual report for 
1906 contains many striking details of what boys' corn 
clubs and girls' industrial clubs are accomplishing in twenty 
counties of that state. The report is profusely illus- 
trated and highly interesting. 

There is much similarity in the plan pursued in the 
management of such corn clubs. They hold one or 
possibly two meetings a year, — the spring seed dis- 
tribution and the winter scoring and prize contest, — 
and very generally an annual excursion to the state 
agricultural college or state university. As readers are 
no doubt interested in just how the clubs do their work, 
we reproduce at this point a portion of the report of the 
Hamilton County Boys' Corn Club, as it appears in Super- 
intendent Cotton's report : — 

Object. — The Hamilton County Boys' Corn Club is not a theory. 
It has been worked out from the very beginning. Its object is and 
has been to teach the boys to know good corn and to raise good 
corn by actually handling, judging, and producing it; and that the 
object is being accomplished can be proven by a cloud of witnesses, — 
at least 250 boys and perhaps an equal number of men who are the 




An average corn exhibit at the animal contest of the Hamilton County, Indi- 
ana, Boys' Corn Club. (Courtesy of Superintendent J. F. Haines.) 




Sectional view of Pawnee County, Nebraska, corn growing and cooking con- 
test, 1908. (Courtesy of State Superintendent E. C. Bishop.) 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 225 

parents and friends of these boys. The watchword of the club is, 
"grow corn." 

Meetings. — This club has been organized three years. There 
is no machinery about the organization. Each boy who becomes 
a member signs his name to the list of members, takes two ears of 
corn, plants about 400 hills, cultivates the corn during the summer, 
at the proper time selects ten ears and enters them in the contest for 
a premium. Two meetings are held each year — one in April, when 
the seed is distributed, and one in December, when the premiums are 
awarded. We have had good speakers and corn experts at each 
of these meetings. The boys have been thoroughly instructed in the 
selection and testing of the seed, in the preparation of the seed bed, 
in the cultivation of the corn plant, and in the selection of ears of 
corn for exhibition. Many of these boys who have been members 
from the beginning are becoming expert in their knowledge of corn. 
They are able to score an ear pretty accurately. Quite a number 
of them are more expert than their fathers in the selection of show 
corn. 

" Corn Boys " in Scoring Contests. — At a stock show in this 
county an implement firm offered $10 for the best ten ears of 
corn brought to the room where it was exhibited. A number of the 
farmers brought in their ten ears to compete for the premium. 
I visited this exhibition with one of the " corn boys." We 
looked at the packages, and then I asked him for his opinion. 
He immediately said that there was but one package of good corn 
there, meaning there was but one package of good show corn. When 
the corn was scored, this package selected by the boy took the prize. 
A comparison of the samples submitted by the farmers and those 
submitted by the boys showed that the men had selected their largest 
ears with little regard to perfection or conforming to the type of variety 
of corn represented, while the boys had in mind a typical ear and 
selected ears as nearly like this model as they could find. It was a 
difference in training, that was all. Some of these farmers know 
corn so well that they can be taught nothing more about it. 
Q 



226 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



Name of scorer Date. 

Sample No 



Place. 

Table 



i. Trueness to type or breed 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


O 














3. Purity of color— 































4. Vitality or seed condition 10 




















7. Kernels, a. uniformity of 10 



















— — . 























__ 











0. Circumference of ear. ... 5 










to. Space — a. Furrows be- 
tween rows. .. 5 




b. Space between ker- 














ix. Proportion of corn to cob 10 









































REASONS FOR CUTS 
Fig. 16. — An official corn score card. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 227 

" Corn Boy " vs. Farmer. — At first many were very skeptical 
about the success of the club. What did the county superintendent 
know about corn? But most of that feeling has been overcome. 
The county superintendent did not give the instruction; that was 
given by corn experts. Not long since a farmer entered a contest 
in which his son, a "corn boy," was also a contestant. When the 
corn was judged, the son received the prize, having beaten the father 
many points. This same father was skeptical when the club was 
organized, but now admits that his son knows more about corn than 
he does. 

The year the club was organized it had a membership of 93. 
Of this number 53 entered the contest. The second year the number 
had increased to 150, and 102 entered the contest. This year there 
are 250 members, and at least 200 will be contestants. 

Good Seed Corn. — Last year the corn brought in by the boys was 
sold for seed, and the proceeds divided equally among the boys who 
did not receive premiums. The prize package of ten ears of yellow 
corn was sold for $2, and many of the packages were sold for $1 
each. None of the corn was sold for less than $2 per bushel. It 
had all been carefully selected and cared for, and it made excellent 
seed. 

This year each boy who enters the contest will be given a ticket 
to a corn lunch. This lunch will consist of the following: — 

MENU 

Corn Relish 

Hot Corn Tamale, a la Homana 

Corned Beef 

"Snowflake" Hot Corn Bread, with " Goldmine" Butter 

Cream of Corn, en Surprise 

Molded Corn Glace 

Pop-corn Bonbons, ad Libitum 

Inspiration of Corn 



228 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Excursions to Purdue University. — The club has taken two 
excursions to Purdue. These excursions have been great treats, 
not only to the boys but to their sisters and parents. The L. E. & 
W. R. R. Co. has been very obliging, and both trips have been 
pleasant. At Lafayette we were met by members of the faculty of 
the agricultural department, who conducted us to the university and 
showed us every attention. We picnicked on the campus, went 
through the college buildings, were shown the creamery, soil labora- 
tory, visited the crop experiments, barns, stock and stock pavilion, 
were bountifully supplied with apples to eat, and had our pictures 
taken. Everything was explained in detail, and all questions an- 
swered. At one o'clock a meeting was held in Fowler Hall, where 
the following programme was given: — 

Music — Pipe Organ Miss Eva L. Linn 

Address of Welcome Professor W. C. Latta 

Response J. F. Haines 

Experiment Station Work G. I. Christie 

At four o'clock almost the entire party went on special cars to 
visit the Soldiers' Home, Tecumseh's Trail, and Battle Ground. 

Teaching the Fathers Scientific Farming. — The influence of 
the club has permeated all parts of the county. Farmers are pay- 
ing more attention to the selection of seed corn than ever before; 
they are cultivating their crops with more care; they know more about 
corn, and in many instances the boy knows more about it than the 
father, and the father is proud of it. It is a pleasure to visit the homes 
of the boys who are members of the club. With what pride they 
take you to their patch of corn, and explain how they have cared for 
it. They know all the causes of their success or failure. They 
do not figure awhile and then look at the back of the book for the 
answer. And the father and mother may be pardoned for saying, 
with a glad look in their eyes, " Willie has some fine corn." One day 
I visited Paul Sumner, who has twice taken the premium for the best 
yellow corn. He took me over a portion of his father's fine farm. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 229 

He knew about the stock, the breeds of cattle and hogs, the rotation 
of crops, the yield per acre of wheat and corn. 

At last he took me to his plat of 400 hills of corn that he had 
raised for the corn club. It was his best effort, and well he might 
be proud to produce such corn. He has since accurately measured 
the ground and gathered and weighed the corn. He is in the eighth 
grade at school. He gave this measure and weight to his teacher, 
who gave them to the class as a practical problem. It was found that 
an acre of such corn would produce 100 bushels. 

In several states the organization of industrial clubs owes 
its origin to a state-wide movement, initiated by the state 
department of education or the department of agriculture 
in the state university. 

State-wide Boys' and Girls' Associations in Nebraska. — 
State Superintendent E. C. Bishop, while he held the office 
of deputy superintendent in his state, undertook the gi- 
gantic task of organizing the school children of Nebraska 
into associations for industrial advancement at home and 
in school. The organization has met with splendid success, 
as may be gathered from the fact that now, after an 
existence of only five years, the association includes clubs 
for girls as well as for boys, and its work has been ex- 
tended through subsidiary organizations to every part of 
the state. 

The University of Nebraska cooperates in this im- 
portant work through the department of Farmers' Insti- 
tutes ; it issues valuable illustrated bulletins for the use 
of club members and furnishes speakers for the state and 
local meetings. In Nebraska, as in Illinois, the Farmers' 



230 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Institute and the State Board of Agriculture are impor- 
tant factors in the success of the movement. 

Organization and Growth. — The first corn club was 
organized at Lincoln in the spring of 1905 with a mem- 
bership of five hundred boys. The first state corn con- 
test was held at the capital, December 14-16, 1905. 
The results were so gratifying that "corn-cooking" was 
added, and five hundred girls immediately formed an 
auxiliary for that purpose. By 1906 the scope of the two 
associations — Nebraska Boys' Agricultural Association 
and Nebraska Girls' Domestic Science Association — 
had become materially enlarged and included "corn, 
wheat, potato, and sugar-beet growing, corn cooking, 
other branches of cooking, fruit preserving, flower culture, 
hand sewing, and manual training, with work in country 
clubs in other lines of agriculture, domestic science, and 
manual training." 

Local organizations are provided for by the state 
organizations. These are the county and the school- 
district organizations. The degree of growth and effi- 
ciency of the mother state organization very materially 
depends on the virility and efficient management of these 
local units. The county superintendent in the county 
and the teacher in the school district is ex-offi,cio manager 
in his respective unit. The best local exhibits are 
gathered for the annual state meetings, at which prizes 
and other awards are made. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 23 1 

The total membership of Nebraska clubs is now (1909) 
increased to over 20,000 boys and girls active in the work 
through the county and state organizations. During the 
year forty-four county contests were held, each being in 
session from one day to one week. The attendance has 
varied from a few hundred to two thousand at each point 
during any one day. A new feature this year is short 
one-week courses in agriculture for the boys and domestic 
science for the girls. Each school district in the county 
is exhibited to two delegates — one boy and one girl — 
to these short-course meetings. 

State Superintendent E. C. Bishop on the Object of 
the Organization. — Mr. Bishop strikes the keynote of 
the purpose for which all such organizations are formed, 
when he says : — 

The object of our organization is to provide suggestion and direc- 
tion rather than instruction. The boy who carefully cultivates and 
studies the growth of a patch of corn, sugar beets, potatoes, wheat, 
or other plants will gain a new interest and a better appreciation 
of the value of careful thought applied in the study and the adapta- 
tion of seed selection, soil fertility, and the intelligent culture of plants. 
Further, he will become interested in the best methods of marketing, 
and of the use of these plants as food for man and animal. This 
will direct him to study, to discussion, and to investigation, leading 
to a knowledge of systematic feeding and caring for live stock, to 
a study of animal adaptation and needs, and to a careful considera- 
tion of the financial problems involved. This is education. 

The girl who learns by actual experience to successfully culti- 
vate one flower, one vegetable, or any plant in which she becomes 



232 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

interested; who learns to bake a loaf of bread, to prepare an edible 
dish for the table, to can a jar of fruit, to make an apron for 
the use of herself or a member of the family, to neatly darn or 
patch a garment; if she seeks to know and to perform these simple 
yet important duties the best way; if she combines with her work, 
cheerfulness, careful thought, and intelligent study, — she will ere- 
long become expert in home duties, and will become such a student 
of nature, of the home and of the foundation of social life, that she 
will be led to a proper growth and development, into the student, 
the business woman, the home maker, and the home keeper, — the 
highest of all womanly callings. 

Annual Industrial Contest for Minnesota Boys and 
Girls. — The University of Minnesota issues a manual (see 
list at end of chapter) for the use of rural schools. The 
1907 issue of the book contains this interesting list of 
topics: the seed, wheat, oats, barley, corn, crop rotation, 
and field management; suggestions for practical exercises; 
cooking contest; sewing contest; fruit contest; vegetable 
contest. The book is used as a text for teachers and pupils. 
Besides furnishing the necessary subject-matter in ele- 
mentary agriculture it gives definite rules for score cards 
and judging, and thus becomes the mouthpiece of "The 
Farmers' Club," under whose auspices the annual in- 
dustrial contest for Minnesota boys and girls is held. 

The work is similar to that of the Nebraska associ- 
ations described above. It is especially successful in 
organizing local county clubs. The contests are held 
in December, at St. Paul. Last year the Minneapolis 
Chamber of Commerce offered $1000 for prizes on wheat, 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 233 

oats, and corn. The Business League of St. Paul gave 
$200 to the winners in the cooking and sewing contest. 
Liberal prizes were also given in the other contests. 

This Chapter addressed to Teachers of One-room Schools. 
— This chapter has been written especially for the teacher 
of the one-room rural school. It includes but little that 
a teacher of average ability, energy, and zeal cannot ac- 
complish in such schools. We may all be willing, perhaps, 
to concede that ideal conditions for agriculture teaching 
will never be attained in the one-room school, but we 
certainly cannot afford to postpone this subject till con- 
solidation of schools shall overtake us. Consolidation 
may not reach our section for a quarter century yet. 
Meanwhile, we must do what we can, albeit in a small 
way, to utilize this school in the educational evolution now 
sweeping rural communities. 

The teacher has every reason to feel encouraged in the 
knowledge that the little informal work now being done 
for the small school in nature study and in beautifying of 
premises, in digging and planting in the experimental patch : 
that the work to encourage the boys to study and to raise 
corn and vegetables; that the work to teach the girls the 
rudiments of home economics, sewing, etc., — that all 
these are as effective in creating a love for the soil and life 
on the farm, for industrial efficiency and rural organiza- 
tion and development as many of the more dignified 
methods used in larger and better equipped schools. 



234 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

A SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS DEALING WITH 

ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL 

CLUBS 

i. Bailey, L. H. Principles of Agriculture. The Macmillan Co., 
New York. $1.25. 

2. Bessey, C. E. et al. New Elementary Agriculture (for rural 

schools). University Publishing Co., Lincoln. $0.75. 

3. Carrington, W. T. Elements of Agriculture. Jefferson City, 

Mo., 1904. pp. 36. 

4. Course of Study and Syllabus for Elementary Schools. New 

York State Education Department, Albany, N.Y., 1906. 

5. Crosby, D. H. Agriculture in Negro Schools. 1903 report, 

Office of Experiment Stations, pp. 719 et seq. 

6. . Boys' Agricultural Clubs. Year-book, Department of 

Agriculture, 1904, Washington, D.C. pp. 489-496. 

7. Davis, C. W. Rural School Agriculture. Orange Judd Co. 

New York, 1907. pp. 263. $1. 

8. Ellis, A. Caswell. The Teaching of Agriculture in the Public 

Schools. Bulletin of the University of Texas, No. 85, Decem- 
ber 15, 1906. 

9. Iles, George. Dr. Robertson's Work in the Training of 

Canadian Farmers. Review of Reviews, November, 1907. 
pp. 576-584. 

10. Illinois Course of Study. C. M. Parker, Taylorville, 111. pp. 208. 

11. Nebraska Corn Book. E. C. Bishop, Lincoln, Neb. pp. 78. 

12. Jewell, F. R. Agricultural Education (especially chapter on 

elementary agriculture). U. S. Education Bureau, Bulletin 
No. 2, 1907. pp. 140. 

13. Report, 1905, Illinois Farmers' Institute, Springfield, 111., 1905, 

pp. 462. 

14. Roosevelt, Theodore. The Man who works with his Hands. 

An address, Lansing, Mich., May 31, 1907. Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, D.C, Circular No. 24. pp. 14. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL CLUBS 235 

15. Rural School Agriculture. The University of Minnesota. 

Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 2 (revised). St. 
Anthony Park, Minn., 1907. pp. 116. 

16. Voorhees, E. B. First Principles of Agriculture. Silver, Bur- 

dett and Co., Chicago. $0.75. 

1 7. Winslow, I. O. Principles of Agriculture for Common Schools. 

American Book Co., Chicago. $0.60. 

The following Farmers' Bulletins and many others on kindred 
subjects may be obtained by writing to the Secretary of Agriculture, 
Washington, D.C. : — 

No. 35. Potato Culture. 

No. 39. Onion Culture. 

No. 91. Potato Diseases and their Treatment. 

No. 113. The Apple and how to grow It. 

No. 148. Celery Culture. 

No. 154. The Home Fruit Garden. 

No. 156. The Home Vineyard. 

No. 161. Suggestions to Fruit Growers. 

No. 171. Control of the Codling Moth. 

No. 181. Pruning. 

No. 183. Meat on the Farm. 

No. 199. Corn Growing. 

No. 229. The Production of Good Seed Com. 



CHAPTER XII 
Manual Training in One-room Schools 

Manual Training Defined. — The term manual train- 
ing, as we shall use it in this chapter, applies to all con- 
structive handwork in the schools. It includes the work 
of both boys and girls — of the boys with the use of tools 
on wood, iron, leather, etc.; of the girls in acquiring a 
knowledge of the underlying principles essential in house- 
hold economy and management. Not uncommonly nowa- 
days, however, the term is expanded to embrace vastly 
more than the work of the hand muscles. Broadly speak- 
ing, it may be made to include all of those exercises of 
the human body " by which is secured the coordination 
of brain, nerve, and muscle, thus producing muscular con- 
trol and accuracy of the senses." Nature study, school 
gardening, and elementary agriculture would very natu- 
rally come under this category, since they all have 
the coordination of values set forth above. But these 
have been considered elsewhere and need no repetition 
here. It is, then, in the restricted sense of handwork 
for boys and girls that we shall use the term. 

Its Early History. — Manual training has been recog- 
nized as a legitimate part of school work for just half a 
century. We hear of it first in Finland, where one Uno 

236 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 237 

Cygnaeus organized a complete system of manual training 
for the elementary schools in 1858. Eight years later it 
became compulsory in some form in all normal training 
schools, and for boys in all rural schools. 

But it is to Sweden, after all, that we must look for 
the greatest contributions to the early development of 
systematic manual training. The kingdom in 1872 faced 
the same difficulties in its rural communities that we of 
the United States are experiencing to-day; viz. the con- 
centration of rural population in the large cities. To 
counteract this evil and at the same time to reestablish 
the one-time popular home industries now on a rapid 
decline, the government determined to establish Sloyd 
schools throughout rural communities. The schools were 
intended, as the word Sloyd signifies, to make their 
pupils handy, adept, skillful, and were naturally of a 
decided economic bent, preparing the youth for the various 
trades. The real educational aspects of manual training 
did not come until later when the movement had rounded 
into form. A complete course of tool work for boys was 
formulated and by 1877 extended to the entire system of 
folk schools, or public schools. Sloyd is now taught in 
fully 2000 schools in the kingdom. The famous Sloyd 
Seminariun at Naas, established in 1874, has been the 
backbone of the Swedish system, and at the same time 
has been of inestimable importance in shaping the work 
in other countries. 



238 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

France has made manual training obligatory in all its 
primary schools. Handwork instruction is given in all 
elementary grades. The various parts of the German 
Empire, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Russia, and the 
British Isles are pretty thoroughly alive to the great ad- 
vantages to be derived from manual training and are all 
offering the work in some form or other. 

Manual Training in the United States. — In European 
countries the introduction and spread of manual training 
has been confined to the elementary schools. But with 
us the movement began, literally speaking, at the top of 
the educational system and thence spread downward. 
It is generally conceded that the excellent European manual 
training exhibits at the Centennial Exposition in Phila- 
delphia, in 1876, gave direction to the manual training 
idea in the United States. The Ethical Culture Society 
of New York established the Workingman's School in 
1878, an institution wherein manual training formed the 
vital part of instruction. The first distinctive manual 
training school in our country was, however, founded at 
St. Louis, in 1880, through the efforts of Dr. Calvin A. 
Woodward. The St. Louis Manual Training School was 
successful from the outset, which led to the establish- 
ment of similar schools in other large cities: Chicago, 
Baltimore, Eau Claire, Toledo, Philadelphia, Cleveland, 
Cincinnati, Denver, and Omaha. These schools all sprang 
up between 1S80 and 1SS6. From that time to the present 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE- ROOM SCHOOLS 



2 39 



the growth has been remarkably rapid in all schools aside 
from the rural. The report of the United States commis- 
sioner of education for 1907 contains the following 
table of cities of 4000 population and over in which manual 
training was given in the years indicated: — 



State or Territory. 




'Xj 


10 

00 


00 


& 


8, 




m 

8. 


£ 


10 

8. 


% 


1 


United States . . . 


V, 


95 


121 


146 


169 


232 


270 


322 


411 


420 


5io 


644 


North Atlantic Division . 


23 


52 


72 


80 


94 


112 


"5 


129 


158 


156 


i75 


217 


South Atlantic Division . 


3 


3 


6 


5 


10 


16 


22 


28 


36 


29 


22 


34 


South Central Division . 


1 


2 


2 


5 


3 


12 


12 


19 


26 


31 


42 


52 


North Central Division . 


IC 


r- 


31 


45 


48 


73 


89 


119 


161 


i74 


236 


293 


Western Division . 


— 


8 


10 


11 


14 


19 


22 


27 


3° 


30 


35 


48 



The table speaks a volume for the remarkable growth 
of the system. In 1890 only 37 cities of the class given 
in the table maintained manual training schools; in 1905, 
420 cities; and in 1907, 644, which last was a gain of 134 
over the preceding year. This demonstrates pretty clearly 
that people in the cities are determined to give their chil- 
dren a practical preparation for industrial pursuits. 

Growth of Manual Training Ideas. — Educational 
theorists have been reluctant to own that all human knowl- 
edge is not contained in printed books. There is a general 
dread in their camp that the practical in education, which 
children may live and experience and make immediately 
applicable to their own lives, has a tendency to lower 
educational standards, to cheapen and debase accepted 



240 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

courses. Be this as it may, just now there is with us in 
the cities a rapidly increasing demand for industrial 
efficiency which nothing short of thoroughgoing manual 
training courses can satisfy. In rural districts the demand 
is not so marked because people there hardly yet under- 
stand their own needs. Once they become awake to what 
manual training can do for the farm, they will do what the 
Swedes did — introduce it into every rural school in the 
land. 

Philosophy of Manual Training. — The philosophy 
underlying the movement is " simple, forcible, and 
sound," as Dr. G. Stanley Hall puts it, " in that it 
lessens the interval between thinking and doing ; helps 
to give control, dexterity, and skill an industrial trend 
to taste; interests many not successful in ordinary school; 
tends to an appreciation of good, honest work; imparts 
new zest for some studies; adds somewhat to the average 
length of the school period; gives a sense of capacity and 
effectiveness, and is a useful preparation for a number of 
vocations." 

The psychological relation between manual activity 
and mental growth is very marked. Training in muscular 
activity has a powerful influence on intellectual growth. 
No physical manipulations can be accomplished without 
mind concentration, and mind concentration is essential 
in the thinking process and hence to mind development. 
There can be no really skilled artisan without strong 




Girls at work in Domestic Economy rooms, Macdonald Consolidated School, 
Guelph, Canada. 





"js^Jnl 







Boys in Manual Training department, Macdonald Consolidated School, 
Guelph, Canada. 




Manual training in a small rural school, Edgar County, Illinois. 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 24I 

mentality. On the other hand, weak mentality has never 
yet produced skilled dexterity. 

We make bold to claim that there can be no real educa- 
tion without the proper coordination of mind, heart, and 
hand. The world is full of individuals who have spent 
years in mastery of " the printed page," but who are 
strangers to the simplest forms of manual exercise. Such 
people lack much that is essentially practical in education. 
Brought face to face with real life they are helpless, lack 
initiative and executive ability. A knowledge of manual 
training would have brought them much more of real life 
by filling the yawning gap between the theoretical and the 
practical ; thereby, in the end, safeguarding the nation's 
social life. 

Aims of Manual Training in Rural Communities. — 
In our rural communities manual training must stand for 
two things: (i) adaptation of manual or muscular energy 
to the end that farm pursuits may become more skilled 
and scientific; (2) recognition of the beautiful as well 
as the practical in material creation, to the end that farm 
life may become more attractive and more beautiful, and 
better worth living. 

Many is the young man who has left the farm because 
life there seemed to him but one monotonous round of 
manual labor, devoid, yes, stripped, of every incentive to 
mental growth. It is an undeniable truism that the 
average American farm youth has never learned the dis- 



242 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

tinction between manual labor and manual training. 

Says Calvin Milton Woodward in the Outlook of December 

16, 1905, speaking of his experience on the farm: — 

I learned to use correctly the hoe, the shovel, the plow, the scythe, 
the cradle, and the ax; but I never learned the proper use of bench 
tools, nor had we a machine tool of any kind till the mowing machine 
and the reaper came. I knew nothing of drawing, nothing of the 
mechanic arts, properly so called. Nineteen twentieths of my time 
was spent simply in hard labor, which had no education beyond an 
incidental and imperfect knowledge of crops and soils and the market. 
Manual training would have been of great value, and a few lessons 
would have saved me much time and money. 

Or we may take the verdict of Professor L. D. Harvey, 

of Menomonie, Wisconsin, himself once a farm boy, but 

now an educator of national reputation. He exclaims: 

I left the farm, and I left it because I did not like it. Why? 
Well, it was not because of the hard work. There was enough of 
that! It began while the stars were yet shining in the morning, and 
it did not end till they shone again at night. I know what long days 
and hard work mean. But that was not why I left the farm. I left 
it because hard work was all there was on the farm. Because there 
was not at that time, so many years ago, the thousand and one things 
that are available to the farmer to-day, and some of which are sealed 
books to him because he has not had the training which makes it 
possible for him to realize what is in them. I left because none of 
these things were there then. 

There had then already been much improvement in 
farm conditions. But many of the things which are avail- 
able remain closed secrets for want of training. To dis- 
close the contents of these sealed books is our task. Let 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 243 

the farm youth once become skilled and scientific in farm 
pursuits, and all that is deadening and sordid in farm life 
will disappear before the new-born interest sprung from a 
union of head and hand ! 

Combination of Art and Manual Training. — Then as to 
the beautiful in material creation. We have spoken of 
the correlation of brain and hand. But we need more. 
The commercial spirit is so strong in us that the artistic 
phase is but little associated with the material. The 
practical takes precedence over the beautiful, as is so well 
illustrated in the grotesque and often monstrous structures 
reared in our large cities, and in lack of taste in the con- 
struction and arrangement of our farm homes, in planning 
and planting the grounds, etc. The schools must come to 
the rescue here, also. They must teach our rural popu- 
lation how art, the essence of the aesthetic and spiritual 
world, may be combined with manual training, the essence 
of the practical and constructive. 

An ardent advocate of this coordination of art and 
manual training in rural schools is Professor Elbert H. 
Eastmond, Instructor in Industrial Arts, Brigham Young 
University, Provo, Utah. A recent paper of his on this 
subject (Rational Art and Manual Training in Rural 
Schools, N. E. A., Los Angeles, 1907) contains so many 
admirable suggestions for the teacher that the author has 
secured his permission to make use of such portions as 
may seem of most direct benefit: — 



244 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Suggestive Course for Rural Schools. — I am of the opinion that 
an impetus in art work is helpful to the introduction of art and manual 
training correlation or constructive art expression. The emphasis 
of this conceptive generating subject need not be felt by any others 
than the supervisors, teachers, and general school management. 
Art study is very possible under a teacher who knows his business. 
It is a subject that will report the activities of a child in a manner 
that is gratifying to most parents. 

Useful, practical exercises possess educational value. I believe 
that a manual training product that has industrial benefit for boy 
or girl should have three factors in organization: first, the thing 
should be suggestive by the call of utility; secondly, it should have 
geometric basis; thirdly, it should be beautiful as to proportion and 
consistency of purpose. To beautify does not mean to decorate 
in this instance; it means to use art principles and agencies to the 
extent only that the product is brought into harmony with the idea 
of its being, and becomes pleasing to refined taste because of the 
ornamentation or finish. The art of a product of work should be 
in the work expressed, in the form and in the individuality of the 
skill displayed. All art, especially as a medium of culture in rural 
schools and public schools anywhere, is simply creative expression, 
and soul expression. Drawing is the delineative part of the 
division of expression that deals with materials and mediums in a 
graphic manner. 

First in art work, I recommend clay as a medium for general 
representation and creative expression, especially in the primary 
grades. This medium is possible of supply in all localities and in- 
expensive. Most clays are self-disinfecting. With careful thought 
and method this medium can be easily supplied and be successfully 
handled in classes. This medium may be used again and again. 
Just at this point, allow me to suggest that care should be taken 
as to the destruction of products before the little makers. Many 
times teachers unconsciously bring discouragement to the child, and 
suggest negative habits by destroying the work in the child's presence. 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 245 

Following clay lessons, subjective and representative work in paper 
cutting should be given. Then the continuation of delineation is 
presented by the child working with some large medium, applied 
with brush perhaps — mass expression. As soon as you feel that 
the child is prepared and anxious, introduce color. 

It is not necessary that children have a medium in their hands for 
all art lessons. Color and beauty may be talked of to the child, and 
an enjoyment reached. The appreciation of the world beautiful 
and the world beautified is the greatest aim in the art education of 
children. (For suggestive outline of work see Appendix.) 

Kinds of Work Possible of Introduction. — Art and manual 
training in the rural school are established educationally that it 
may aid in the all-round development of true, clean individuality 
in each boy and girl. It should not be introduced with utilization 
aims to any great extent in the elementary school. For the sake 
of emphasis, I repeat that all problems should have three general 
requisites: consistency as to use, geometric basis, and an element 
of beauty. 

N. E. A. Committee on Industrial Education in Rural 
Communities. — The N. E. A. Committee on Industrial 
Education in Rural Communities makes the following gen- 
eral statements concerning the lines of handwork which 
may be undertaken in rural schools, with all reasonable 
allowance depending on character of the particular school, 
its location, environment, equipment, etc.: — 

DOMESTIC ART, ECONOMY, AND SCIENCE 

General Statement. — Within this field the scope of the work may 
embrace the acquiring of a knowledge of scientific principles and 
truths essential as a basis for the proper organization and administra- 
tion of the activities of the household upon a scientific basis; of a 



246 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

knowledge of the facts non-scientific in character, but necessary for 
the proper exercise of activities within the household upon an eco- 
nomic basis; practice in the application and use of this knowledge. 

MANUAL TRAINING 

General Statement. — In the field of manual training considered 
apart from the work in domestic art, economy, and science, the 
following ends are sought: the training of physical, intellectual, 
and moral activities through the use of tools and materials and their 
uses, as shall enable the boy to do very many things in line of con- 
struction and repair work necessary upon the farm which would 
otherwise have to be done by hired labor at considerable expense. 

The One-room School and Manual Training. — 

The general statements above are intended particularly 
for the graded or semigraded consolidated schools. In 
these larger institutions alone does the committee hold 
out hopes for a final solution of the hand-craft problem. 
It does not believe that much can be accomplished in the 
one-room schools. The well-equipped teachers here, 
it argues, are too few and facilities for such work alto- 
gether too limited. At the same time the committee does 
concede that some manual training work may be done even 
in these schools. It says in part : — 

The school carpentry should keep in view the tools, the boy will 
most probably have at home, and may well be directed to the making 
of articles which can be put to some immediate use at home or in the 
school. 

If in the school there are a number of large boys, the carpentry 
may well expand within a year or two, so as to take in the enter- 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE- ROOM SCHOOLS 247 

prise of building a small shop on the grounds and fitting it up for 
working purposes. Under specially favorable circumstances it 
will not be difficult to extend it to the making of plans for the con- 
struction of farm buildings of the simpler sort. 

With the right kind of a teacher exercises may be given in the 
sewing of leather and in the splicing of ropes, finding practical appli- 
cation in the mending of harness, making of halttrs, etc., as the neces- 
sities of the farm may require. 

Some practical lessons in painting and glazing may be given, 
and opportunities are not lacking for applying the knowledge thus 
gained on the school or farm buildings. 

In domestic art, with teachers properly trained (and they may 
perhaps secure training in some lines of this work more readily than 
in the fields of industrial education, especially in sewing), something 
might be done in almost every country school with the girls, pro- 
vided wisdom is used in the way the work is organized and carried 
on. 

When we know that to these concessions can be added 
the testimony of many successful rural teachers who are 
actually teaching manual training and domestic art in 
this class of schools and who are getting good results, the 
case does not look so bad after all. Perhaps it is only fair 
to add that conditions have changed materially for the 
better since the committee (1905) wrote its report. The 
writer thus has before him at this time the records of 
several scores of one-room schools which have added the 
work, and whose teachers would not go back to the old 
system if they could. 

The Great Mistake of Waiting for Consolidation. — We 
make a great mistake if we neglect the means which are 



248 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

at hand for rural school improvement, while waiting for 
consolidation. Granted that this is the panacea for all 
the ills to which our rural schools are subject, it may 
nevertheless be a long, long time before consolidation 
reaches our particular section of the country. It will come 
slowly, very slowly, perhaps; and meanwhile shall we 
neglect to do what we can to ameliorate conditions ? Let 
us remember that the consolidated schools are very few 
in number when compared with the whole number of rural 
schools. For each such school there are hundreds of small 
schools where manual training is not attempted for want 
of proper encouragement. If our educational associations 
and their investigating committees would be as eager to 
make the most of the opportunities at hand, as they are in 
anticipating ideal conditions, much of the embarrassment 
under which we now have to labor could be eliminated. 

Case of District No. 4, Monroe Township, Howard 
County, Indiana. — The writer has in his possession a 
picture of a one-room school in Indiana where they did 
not wait for ideal conditions. In it appears Mr. Ord 
Fortner, the teacher, instructing his boys in bench work. 
He began without any equipment whatsoever. Yet he is 
accomplishing vastly more for his boys than are many 
highly paid manual training teachers in elaborately 
equipped buildings. He teaches them to be resourceful, 
to get along with little and make the most of what they 
have at their disposal. He writes: — 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 249 

I began with the boys making their own bench. After that we 
made the shelf you see in the window. We are at present working 
on a little spice cabinet. I do all the laying off for them until they 
become accustomed to the use of the tools. Later I am going to 
have them make one by themselves. The work I have planned 
for the winter will be along the same line as I have described. The 
boys are much pleased with the work and take much interest in it. 

Mr. Fortner's case, we rejoice to say, is not an isolated 

one. Many others have done equally well ; for instance, 

Miss Lulu Wolford, in District No. 29, Pawnee county, 

Nebraska, quoted in the chapter on agricultural education. 

We read : — 

At intermission periods the teacher and pupils talked over plans 
by which they might learn to cook and to sew, to make various 
articles, and to cultivate certain plants. Recipes were sought and 
distributed, each girl experimenting in her own home. Results 
were reported at their little informal meetings, and when desired, 
samples were submitted. In this way the girls learned to make 
bread and other common articles of diet, to can fruit, to sew, and to 
cultivate flowers and vegetables. 

Results from such Informal Work. — The work in 
these schools is necessarily in a high degree informal. It 
is adapted to the needs of the individual pupils and takes 
up the neglected work of the home, thus broadening the 
children, leading them to a keener appreciation of home 
life and home interests. It may be truly said that every 
boy who is having actual experience in building a " spice 
cabinet," in planing a perfect edge, in making a tight 
joint, is doing more to draw home and school into closer 



250 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

relations than is the boy plugging away at the best arranged 
course conceivable in the three R's. And this without 
any disrespect for the three R's, which are very excellent 
in their place. Just as true is it that the girl who from 
consultation with teacher and experimentation at home 
learns to prepare a new dish, to bake a loaf of good bread, 
to make her own sunbonnet and apron, who learns some- 
thing about home sanitation and home emergencies which 
her mother does not know — such a girl is doing every 
whit as much, if not more, for rural uplift than is the girl 
who has clung to the traditional course of study. 

How to Begin. — Just what line of manual work the 
teacher should begin with will depend on local conditions, 
as well as on the teacher's sex and preparation. A man 
teacher can do more for the boys than can a woman teacher. 
With the girls the reverse is true. Very much of the 
work outlined above, from the pen of Professor Eastmond, 
can be done equally well by both. The teacher may 
be without experience in such work. Good and well. 
Let him send for some of the books suggested in the list 
at the end of this chapter, and have him study them in- 
dustriously. Begin with art work or the simplest forms 
of mechanism. Let him study, and practice what he 
studies, first at home and, when well mastered, at school. 

If the teacher is the first to introduce such work in a 
particular school, he will of course have to begin with 
bare hands, for of equipment there is none. The first 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 25 1 

steps which now have to be faced are the most difficult 
and most discouraging. But once they are taken, the 
battle is half won. The teacher may have to wring tools 
from a school board of doubting Thomases; or may have 
to build his own work bench, as above; or he may have 
to construct the very shop in which the work is carried on! 
How to win : a Case to the Point. — Ex-state Superin- 
tendent Bayliss, of Illinois, tells a story of how an aggressive 
young man won a glorious victory for rural uplift and for 
self at the one-room school of Cottage Hill, near Spring- 
field, Illinois. The teacher was determined to introduce 
manual training. The schoolroom was too small to permit 
of use for this purpose. But there would be ample space 
under the building if excavated! The teacher and older 
boys with their own hands actually removed the earth in 
the basement next the furnace and here planned their 
manual training room. And what came out of these 
heroics? A tumble-down, poorly supported school in a 
short time gave way to a modern building. Interest in 
education grew apace. The teacher was retained for 
six years, at an annually increased salary. In conversa- 
tion with Mr. Bayliss he modestly says: — 

When I came into this district six years ago, the schoolhouse had 
nothing in it and was falling to pieces. After the new house was built 
the school grew, and I just couldn't keep those little fellows studying 
books all day, and so had to do something to keep them busy. 
The older children just naturally "got busy" because they wanted 
to. 



252 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

In Conclusion. — The sum and substance of our plea 
is that we all do what we can for the one-room school now, 
while waiting for improved conditions. Let us remember 
that rural communities in our country support several 
hundred one-room schools for every consolidated school, 
so that it is easy to see that the smaller school must con- 
tinue for many years to come as the rallying place for a 
majority of our farm youth. Unless we use all the in- 
genuity and energy with which we are blessed, the small 
district school must continue to languish. Unless we 
"be up and doing," there can be little hope of speedily 
realizing the splendid rural uplift for which all good 
Americans are hoping. 



A SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, AND 
SPECIAL ARTICLES ON MANUAL TRAINING 

1. Advanced Knife Work. B. F. Johnson and Co., Richmond, 

Va. 

2. Kern. Among Country Schools (especially chapter on manual 

training). Ginn and Co., 1905. 

3. Hanus. Beginnings of Industrial Education. Houghton, 

Mifflin Co., Boston, 1908. 

4. Kellogg. Busy Work. E. L. Kellogg, New York City. 

5. Trybon. Cardboard Construction. Bradiey and Co., Chicago. 

6. White. How to make Baskets. Doubleday, Page and Co., 

New York City. 

7. Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Communities. Report 

of Committee, N.E.A., 1905. (Send 10 cents to secretary, 
Winona, Minn.) 



MANUAL TRAINING IN ONE-ROOM SCHOOLS 253 

8. Weaver. Paper and Scissors in the Schoolroom. Thomas 

Charles and Co., Chicago. 

9. Proceedings of the N.E.A. for 1907, as follows: — 

Industrial Work in Rural Schools in New England, New 

Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. 
Manual Training in Rural Schools, and Rational Art. 

10. Hapgood. School Needlework. Ginn and Co., Chicago. 

11. Suggestions and Exercises for Manual Training. State Superin- 

tendent, Lansing, Mich. 

12. Gilman and. Williams. Seat Work and Industrial Occupa- 

tions. The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1908. 

13. Parks. Educational Wood-working for Home and School. 

The Macmillan Company, New York City, 1908. 



CHAPTER XIII 

The Library and Rural Communities 

General Statement : Intimate Relation of School to Read- 
ing. — Libraries and well-planned reading courses play 
an ever widening role in systematic education. There was 
a time when a library was looked on as a mere repository 
for books to be handed down to succeeding generations. 
Books were stored to be kept, not to be read. But now 
it is different. This is the day of the open shelf, the cir- 
culating library, and the many other modern accessories 
of the important movement to educate by encouraging all 
— in school and out of it — to read the best in literature. 
Education does not end with the school career. It con- 
tinues as long as life lasts. The school's main function 
is to start the child aright; to aid the youth to think in- 
dependently ; to inculcate in him a love for learning and 
reading extending far beyond the covers of text-books, sup- 
plementing and broadening the general notions contained 
in the books. 

President Eliot once said that " the uplifting of the 
democratic masses depends on the implanting at school 
of a taste for good reading." Good books act as a leaven, 
quickening the rank and file of the nation to utmost activity 
and attainment; and mind that word good, for an evil 

254 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 255 

book will do more harm to the individual and, if read by 
many, to the community and country at large than can 
be counteracted by the most potent influence working for 
the good. To implant a taste for good reading is one of 
the teacher's most important duties. 

The True Teacher sees Education in its Entirety. — The 
child comes to school for the first time with heart and mind 
open and receptive to the strange new things in store for 
him. Hitherto his education has been limited to observa- 
tion of simple phenomena falling within the narrow 
horizon of the home circle, and to occasional peeps into 
the mysterious realm of the printed page. Hereafter the 
teacher is the arbiter of his future. On the teacher will 
depend in great measure whether the child grows in mental 
power and love for the new world upon which he has 
entered, or narrows down in spirit, embittered against 
this enslavery of books, which, he thinks, is keeping him 
from the free life of the out-of-doors! A true teacher is 
able to see education in its entirety. He knows and ac- 
knowledges that the schoolroom is only a small part of 
life. In the maturity of his own mind he knows that the 
narrow covers of the text-book cannot teach the boy and 
girl all that they require for life. The solution of life's 
problems is not found in books. It must come from per- 
sonal observation, from individual reasoning and re- 
flection. But to attain these ends, the teacher must 
foster a love for good reading, which alone forms an avenue 



256 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

of escape from the too narrow schoolroom processes to the 
world of real living things. Such reading may be counted 
on to furnish the power to discern between what is good 
and what is bad in this world. 

Text-books are Mere Compendiums of Facts and General 
Notions. — Text-books, be they ever so good, are little more 
than mere compendiums of facts and outlines of funda- 
mental principles. So vast and varied is the mass of in- 
formation along any one line of human endeavor as to be 
beyond the possibilities of a single book. It is impossible 
to compress within the covers of a single book all the mate- 
rial necessary to give the student a sufficiently broad grasp 
of any one subject. Thus, for instance, our text-books on 
geography contain only just enough materials bearing on 
the physical, social, and industrial characteristics of given 
lands and peoples to furnish a leading thread, and, per- 
haps, to create a taste for more. The real broadening 
facts intended to create lasting mental pictures of the 
phenomena outlined in the texts must come from well- 
chosen parallel readings. That is to say, every school 
must have access to a well-equipped library, and must 
have a teacher who loves and knows books and who has 
some knowledge of library economy, if the best educational 
results are to be attained. 

What the Library will do for the Child. — The library 
can no longer be considered as separate and distinct from 
the school. It must indeed be looked upon as an integral 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 257 

part of the school system. Some educators even go so 
far as to assert that the library is the most important part 
of the whole school. Let this be as it may, the fact re- 
mains that its value as an educational factor is hard to 
overrate. The following is a brief summary of what it 
will do for the child : it is certain to inspire him to extend 
his search for knowledge far beyond the narrow confines 
of the four walls of the school; it becomes a life process 
with him, to be pursued throughout life; it adds new life 
and breadth to the school, bringing it into touch with 
real, throbbing humanity; it broadens the child's outlook, 
since he is now no longer dependent on the one-man 
authority of the one teacher or the one text-book writer; 
it strengthens his judgment, making him resourceful and 
an independent thinker; finally, it becomes the fountain 
from which spring his highest ideals of life, leading him 
on to the noblest in human endeavor. 

Early History of the Library. — To bring the sanest and 
best literature within reach of all the people is no small 
undertaking. Such a movement requires liberal moneyed 
aid, expert guidance, and, in a measure, public control. 
The library did not become a factor in the educational 
system of our country before the middle of the nineteenth 
century, when its permanent existence was assured through 
public taxation. New York State enacted a law authorizing 
direct taxes for " school libraries " in 1834, and followed 
up this act, in 1838, with provisions for annual state ap- 
s 



258 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

propriations to such libraries, which continue even to the 
present day. Twenty-one other states have since followed 
the example of the Empire state and placed like tax laws 
on their statute books. 

School Libraries. — The term school libraries is in 
reality a misnomer; for the libraries were not limited 
to school use nor even chosen with reference to school 
needs. They were in fact open to the free use of all the 
people. They answered the needs of both public and 
school, being administered through the school merely for 
convenience. Such libraries became widely distributed 
and worked much good in their day. But in time they 
either outgrew the bounds of school administration or the 
moneys voted were diverted from their intended uses to 
illegal ends. This brought about much confusion. About 
this time some communities began to establish libraries 
through private munificence. This resulted in a general 
separation of the school library and the public library. 
Town libraries were officially recognized in New Hamp- 
shire under the Act of 1849. Since then thirty-seven 
states, all told, have passed permissive laws providing for 
the establishment and maintenance of public libraries. 

Library Advantages at the Disposal of the City Child. — 
This growth of school and public libraries in our cities and 
villages in recent years has been a marked triumph for 
the cause of education. Most remarkable, perhaps, is 
the rapidly increasing intimacy and cooperation between 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 259 

the school and the public library. Thus splendidly equipped 
reference sections and lending sections are open to the 
school children of urban places, extending to them every 
assistance in supplementing the work of the more limited 
school library. The best of the periodicals and magazines 
are at their disposal. Separate rooms are set aside for 
the younger children. Oftentimes lectures are given for 
adults and older children, while the little ones have their 
" story hour." Such wonderful privileges, which now, in 
the main, belong to the city children, must soon be offered 
our rural boys and girls as well. 

A distinct advance in the library movement has come 
about through the establishment in twenty-seven states 
of state library boards or commissions. The first of these 
boards was the Massachusetts Free Public Library Com- 
mission, established in 1890. Since then similar boards 
have come into existence in every section of the country. 
Their activities involve every phase of library adminis- 
tration and economy. What is of especial interest, their 
work reaches out beyond the cities to the rural school and 
farm fireside. Frequently the library boards make gifts 
of books and money to needy communities. They aid 
in creating new libraries, send out traveling libraries, 
make loans of pictures and lantern slides, and in other 
ways encourage good reading. This usefulness is sum- 
marized by the New York State Education Department 
in the following outline: — 



260 THE AMERICAN RUEAL SCHOOL 

Direct Aid: 

Gifts of books or money from state. 

In some cases to new libraries only; in other cases yearly grants 
on basis of circulation or approval of books purchased. 

Traveling Libraries: 

General libraries in either fixed or flexible collections. 
Special libraries, German, agricultural, etc. 
Study club libraries. 
Books for the blind. 

Other Loans: 

Pictures. 

Lanterns. 

Slides. 
Instruction: 

Library schools. 

Summer courses. 

Institutes. 

Book Selection : 

Distribution of printed lists, both general and special. 
Inspection of buying lists sent in for approval. 

Publications : 

Best book lists. 

Traveling library catalogues. 

Bibliographies on current questions, etc. 

Library news and commission information. 

Handbooks, bulletins, and information on library economy. 

Reference Work: 

Study club lists and questions. 
Legislative reference. 

Building Plans: 

Reference collection of floor plans and photographs of library 
buildings. 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 261 

Clearing House for Exchanges and Duplicates : 

Visiting and Organizing: 

Library inspector, visitor, organizer. 

Educating public sentiment in desire for library privileges. 

Aid in creating new libraries. 

Registration of libraries. 

Compulsory reports to commission. 

Encouraging traveling library work. 

The Library and the Rural School.— Now, if the library 
is, as maintained, one of our greatest educational influences, 
it must be helped to flourish everywhere. Rural com- 
munities, the homes of more than one half of our popula- 
tion, must come in for their share in the library uplift. 
Reasonable progress has been made already in this respect 
in some states; in others it is wholly ignored. Nowhere 
are conditions altogether satisfactory. Even New York 
State, which boasts " that there is probably no large system 
of schools in the world so well provided with ready ref- 
erence libraries as our New York system," reports that 
" while in the cities each inhabitant has two books, in the 
country each has less than one." 

The several sources through which good literature is 
disseminated in rural districts are: (i) rural school libra- 
ries, (2) young people's reading circles, and (3) traveling 
libraries. 

Rural School Libraries. — It is self-evident that every 
rural district should own a carefully selected library. If 
farmers take no interest in reading or read only the light 



262 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

novels instead of works on agriculture and farm economy, 
it is naturally enough because they have not been other- 
wise trained. They peruse the light stuff because in read- 
ing, as with everything else in this world, the attack is 
easiest along the lines of least resistance. Let the teacher 
create in the boys and girls a taste for that good, whole- 




Fig. 17. — Map showing 448 library stations in Kansas. At the present time 
(1909) the number of stations has increased to 550. 



some literature which ennobles the heart and engages the 
hands, and he will soon have the countryside weaned of its 
bad reading habits. 

Many states have permissive laws on their statute 
books providing for the establishment of such libraries 
and their maintenance through direct taxation. Other 
states, again, have enacted what we may call condi- 
tional laws — laws which provide for public assistance 
conditioned on the raising of a given sum by private 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 263 

subscription in the district desiring the library. Neither 
system is very satisfactory in actual practice. Unless 
a district is wide-awake to the importance of the li- 
brary, a permissive or conditional law is not likely to do 
much good. In order to awaken the first interest it is 
often necessary to have recourse to compulsion. In Kansas 
we have had a permissive law for some time. A certain 
small tax levy may be made for the establishment and 
support of such school libraries. Yet, so unsatisfactory 
are the results from the law that the Kansas Educational 
Commission is now (1909) urging the state legislature to 
make the law compulsory. The commission would have 
that a small levy shall be made from year to year until each 
library holds at least fifty volumes. 

The Nebraska library law is to the point and could 
well serve as a model for other states. It reads: — 

The school board of every public school district is required to set 
aside annually from the general funds of the school district the sum 
of ten cents for every pupil enumerated in the district at the last 
annual school census, which amount shall be annually invested in 
books other than regular text-books, which books shall be suitable 
for the school library. By vote of the school board of any district 
in which a free public library is maintained and to the support of 
which at least $300 is expended annually, this law is inoperative. 

Wisconsin, Iowa, and several other states have laws 
equally binding, and as a result they boast good libraries 
of well-chosen books in practically every rural district. 
Wisconsin has an aggregate of more than 1,000,000 books 



264 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

in such libraries, purchased by a tax of ten cents per capita. 
Iowa has 11,000 school libraries, representing 900,000 
books. The state superintendent's report for the year 
ending June 30, 1906, gives the books purchased that year 
as 67,386, at a cost of $39,394.24. 

What Some States are Accomplishing. — Minnesota 
makes the annual purchase of library books one of the 
conditions for receiving the special state aid which is 
doing so much for Minnesota schools. The large annual 
appropriation has lately been entirely unequal to the de- 
mands made upon it, reports the state superintendent, 
who further declares that — 

The benefits accruing from the possession of these small rural 
and civic libraries have been so palpable that it seems safe to say 
already library acquisition is making its appeal to the thrifty mind 
not simply as so much material gain for the present, but as an in- 
estimably valuable mental and moral investment for the future. 
The remotest and most unsettled counties of the state have been 
penetrated by an interest in the movement and are responding to 
an unexpected and gratifying extent. 

Missouri enacted a library law in 1900 which provides 
that not less than five cents per child enumerated shall be 
expended annually for library purposes. At the time the 
law went into effect the value of all school libraries in the 
state was about $118,000, and these were located mainly 
in cities and towns. Six years later fully one half million 
dollars had been expended for library books, and chiefly 
in rural districts! 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 265 

New York is another state which devotes a large annual 
appropriation from the school fund to the support of dis- 
trict school libraries. So rapid has been the increase of 
such libraries since the revolutionary library act of 1892 
went into effect that libraries are now established in 86 
per cent of the school districts in the state. In 1906 the 
large sum of $251,936.10 was expended for books and 
other equipment. The total number of books then on 
the shelves aggregated 2,499,328 volumes, divided among 
9173 school districts outside of the cities in the following 
manner: 3390 had less than 50 books; 2945 had between 
50 and 100 books; 1696 had between 100 and 200 books; 
611 had between 200 and 500 books; 287 had between 
500 and 1000 books; and 244 had more than 1000 books. 

These are illustrations of states wherein the laws are to 
all practical purposes compulsory. Indeed, Minnesota is 
the only state in the list which has the conditional element 
in its law, but even this is of a decidedly compelling nature. 
Without a doubt states of this class have the best and 
largest libraries of any in the country. 

States working under Conditional Library Laws. — 
Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina are a few 
of the states working under conditional laws. These, 
while less satisfactory than compulsory laws honestly 
enforced, are vastly better than no laws at all. All three 
of the states here mentioned report satisfactory progress. 

The law is practically the same in all of them. The 



266 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Maryland code may be taken as an illustration of all. It 
reads : — 

For the further encouragement of education, district school libraries 
ought to be established in each schoolhouse district, under the care 
of the teacher as librarian. For this purpose the sum of $10 per 
annum is ordered to be paid by the Board of County School Com- 
missioners out of the State School Fund to any schoolhouse district 
as library money, as long as the people of the district raise the same 
amount annually. The books must be selected by the Board of 
District School Trustees and teacher from a list to be approved 
by the County School Board. 

Nineteen counties in Maryland report 849 school libra- 
ries containing 90,215 volumes and 14 teachers' libraries 
with 2698 volumes. In one year after the passage of the 
act in North Carolina 355 libraries were established in 78 
of the 96 counties of the state. State Superintendent 
O. B. Martin, of South Carolina, declares that within two 
and one half years after the enactment of the law in his 
state " nearly eight hundred libraries have been estab- 
lished in places where none had existed before." 

States having no Library Provisions. — The fact that a 
state has no legal provisions for library maintenance for- 
tunately should not prevent it from fostering such libraries. 
Several states which are in this category are accomplishing 
really praiseworthy results. In West Virginia, for instance, 
a state which is obliged to depend for results solely on the 
voluntary efforts of teachers, pupils, and patrons, the 
interest in the movement is so well sustained " as to war- 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 267 

rant the hope," says State Superintendent Thomas C. 
Miller, " that within a very few years a good library can 
be reported in every school in the state." 

The superintendent's biennial report contains some very 
interesting material on just how funds are raised for these 
libraries. We repeat below such paragraphs as are of 
particular interest to the one-room school-teacher who is 
looking for ways and means to secure books for his own 
library : — 

Library Day in West Virginia. — Teachers and pupils have Aen 
up the library idea with enthusiasm, and through their efforts many 
new libraries have been established and many others enlarged. To 
aid in this work the state superintendent has designated the first 
Friday in December as Library Day, for the observance of which a 
programme is prepared and distributed each year by the department. 
This is in the shape of a neatly printed pamphlet containing literary 
material and suggestions for the observance of the day, and directions 
for the selection and purchase of books suitable for the various grades 
of a country school. The lists of books given in this programme 
are not suggested exclusively but as a type of books best adapted to 
the needs of a small graded school. 

Library Day is generally observed by the schools throughout the 
state. It is customary to charge an admission fee to the exercises 
held on this occasion and to solicit contributions to the library 
fund. As much as $100 has been realized from a single entertain- 
ment of this kind. In some instances boards of education have 
lent their assistance to this work, either by contributing to the 
library fund or by providing neat and substantial cases for the 
care of books accumulated. This is not often done, however, as 
boards are not specifically authorized by law to appropriate money 
from school funds for this purpose. For the most part the sue- 



268 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

cess of the library movement has been due to the efforts of the 
teachers and pupils themselves. 

Here follows one of the simple Library Day programmes 
suggested by Mr. Miller : — 

i. Singing — " Coronation." 

2. Responsive Scripture Reading. 

3. Introductory Remarks — Principal or Teacher. 

4. Song: " Greeting Song " — School or Class. 

5. Recitation — " The Barefoot Boy." 

6. Recitation — " God will sprinkle Sunshine." 

7. Solo — " The Bridge." 

8. Roll Call — Each Pupil to give a Quotation. 

9. Recitation — " A Good Motto." 

10. Reading — " Bacon's Essay on Reading." 

11. Singing — " Battle Hymn of the Republic." 

12. Essay — " The Value of Books." 

13. Special Address on Books and Libraries. 

14. Donation of Books and collecting Money. 

15. Closing Exercises. 

And here are the concrete results: in 1904 books re- 
ported 49,966 volumes; in 1905 increased to 74,092 vol- 
umes; and in 1906 increased to 126,503' volumes. Since 
then very large increase. 

The Winnebago County Twentieth-century Forward Li- 
brary Movement. — County Superintendent O. J. Kern, of 
Winnebago county, Illinois, has clearly demonstrated what 
may be accomplished by individuals in a state which has 
no state school library law or where these are ambitious to 
increase and improve the contents of such libraries as they 
may already have. Illinois is one of the states without a 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 269 

school library law. Mr. Kern was anxious to improve 
conditions in his county, — 56 districts out of 118 were 
without libraries, — and accordingly inaugurated what he 
calls the Twentieth-century Forward Library Movement. 
Teachers, pupils, parents, and county superintendent 
cooperated to such good effect that between 1899 an d 1905 
almost 9000 volumes were added to the local district li- 
braries. During the five years between 1901 and 1905 
socials held by teachers and pupils throughout the county 
netted the neat sum of $4207.90, some part of which was 
used for books, while the balance was expended for sundry 
school paraphernalia and equipment. 

Almost any teacher who is ambitious to increase his 
school library can arrange for a social and programme 
by means of which to net many dollars for the library 
fund. 

First Young People's Reading Circle. — The Young 
People's Reading Circle, now so rapidly gaining recog- 
nition as an important adjunct to school education, was 
first suggested by the success of the Teachers' Reading 
Circle. The latter had already for some years made 
possible a more general culture and broader knowl- 
edge to teachers of limited opportunity. It occurred to 
educators that similar circles organized for children 
hampered by the same lack of opportunity might be the 
means of doing for them precisely what was being accom- 
plished for the teachers. 



270 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

The first circle was organized in Indiana in 1887. It has 
done a world of good for the children living in rural dis- 
tricts and villages where opportunities for reading good 
books are few. The plan, which has since then been 
adopted by other states south and west, is briefly this: 
the circle was supervised by a board of directors com- 
posed of able educators. This board decided, first of 
all, the relation the work of the circle should sustain to 
the work of the school. It was clearly recognized that 
it must not become an additional burden on teachers 
and pupils. Its purpose, then, should be to supply at 
the greatest saving in expense the best books adapted 
to the needs of children of varying ages. Clean, whole- 
some books of the best authors only were placed on the 
annual lists. The subjects were of wide range, answer- 
ing the natural demands from the fairy story, through 
stories of adventure and heroic deeds, to history and belles- 
lettres. The books were procured in a number of ways. 
Sometimes the money was taken from public funds, though 
more often it was raised through the enterprise of teachers, 
pupils, and patrons. In every instance these books were 
added to some school library already in existence, or they 
became the nucleus of a new library. 

The circle has been of almost inestimable value to In- 
diana. Almost every school in city, village, township, 
and county has some of the books. In 1906 the Young 
People's Reading Circle in the state numbered 25,086 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 271 

members, with almost 8000 libraries containing 861,292 
volumes. During the year 91,968 volumes were added to 
the libraries. 

Some states limit their work to outlining profitable 
courses of reading and to making arrangements for supply- 
ing the books to the circles at lowest prices. Even where 
the state makes no provision for how to secure the books 
this work of arranging for the supply of best books at low- 
est rates is in itself of great consequence, having been the 
means of organizing many good small libraries in rural 
districts. 

The Place of the Traveling Library. — The last of the 
several agencies for the dissemination of good literature 
to be discussed in these pages is the traveling library. 
Perhaps no other phase of library extension has been its 
equal in stimulating the public everywhere to greater in- 
terest in books. Its history from the very inception has 
been one of uninterrupted growth. Its purpose has been 
accomplished wherever it has received fair trial. And this 
is in truth in many places, for not alone has it been adopted 
as a regular form of library work in almost every state in 
the Union, but it is penetrating the remotest corners of 
states where hitherto library privileges were practically 
unknown. 

The objects for which the traveling library was called 
into existence are briefly stated by the Ohio state librarian 
thus: (1) to furnish good literature to the public; (2) to 



272 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

strengthen small libraries; (3) to create an interest in the 
establishment of new libraries. 

To furnish Good Literature. — The first object — to 
furnish good literature to the public — is being admirably 
well done. No classes are neglected. The city and coun- 
try alike reap the benefits offered. The books, neatly 
boxed, find their way to all kinds of organizations seeking 
self-improvement, such as women's clubs, granges and 
farmers' alliances, workingmen's clubs, Sunday-school 
classes, and, in some states, even penal and charitable 
institutions. 

To strengthen Small Libraries. — A great many libraries, 
both circulating and school, find the traveling library a 
great convenience and aid. In towns and villages where 
library support is meager it is no small thing to be able 
to fall back on the boxes of books which come regularly, 
dispensing new, wholesome reading at every trip. The 
work of small rural school libraries is enhanced in a similar 
manner. This can be illustrated in no better way than by 
giving the experience of the schools in Springfield town- 
ship, Clark county, Ohio, as told by Professor A. B. Gra- 
ham, who says in part : — 

In 1900 the Board of Education of Springfield township, Clark 
county, became interested in libraries. Fifteen dollars for each of 
its twelve schools were appropriated. But no book publisher's 
prepared list was purchased. Only after several weeks spent in 
examining different books was the list completed. 

As soon as they were placed in the schools, parents as well as 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 273 

children became readers of the district school library. Each grade 
from the second to the eighth inclusive had something adapted to it. 
It was immediately found that books in simple, dignified language 
for the upper grades were always welcome in the homes. When 
the teacher, the children, and the patrons become interested in 
libraries, there is a demand for more well-written books. In the 
case mentioned the Board of Education had spent all, and more than 
the law at the time permitted. No more could be spent that school 
year. 

The board decided to apply to the state traveling library for a box 
of books for each subdistrict. The express charges both ways were 
willingly paid. Each box contained from thirty to forty well-selected 
books. There was something for the youngest at school who could 
read well, and something for the oldest at home. Quite as many 
of them were used in the homes as in the schools. When the year 
had closed, all were pleased with the new libraries. Everybody 
said, "Let another appropriation be made next year." The second 
appropriation was made, and the new books were soon in the schools. 
Calls were made also for the traveling library boxes. This time 
a special request was made that each box should contain two or three 
books on agricultural subjects. The boxes were retained for nearly 
the entire year. Many were changed from one school to another. 

Each year the township has been able to use about four hundred 
volumes in addition to what had been purchased by the Board of 
Education. A habit of reading the best literature was being ac- 
quired by both parent and pupil. It has been observed that in ex- 
aminations or in ordinary conversation the children of these schools 
give evidence of the fact that the books have been used to a good 
purpose. 

The third object of the traveling library — to create 
an interest in the establishment of new libraries — is so 
self-evident as to need no discussion here. Once let the 



274 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

taste for good reading get a hold upon the people of a com- 
munity, and they will in all likelihood not rest before a per- 
manent library is established. 

Rapid Spread of the Traveling Library. — New York 
sent out a few libraries as an experiment in 1892. Now 
the state has a collection of 85,000 books available for this 
purpose. The libraries are sent out in fixed groups of 
25, 50, and 100 volumes to grown people and of 25 volumes 
for children. The experimental stage has long ago been 
passed, and the movement in this state is entering upon the 
high tide of success. 

According to the year-book for 1907, issued by the 
League of Library Commissions, " Ohio leads all states 
of the Union in the number of traveling libraries issued 
annually and the communities reached by this method of 
book distribution. For the year ending November 15, 
1906, it distributed libraries as follows: to women's 
clubs, 187; to schools, 526; to granges, no; to independ- 
ent study clubs, 126; to religious organizations, 94; to 
libraries, 27; to men's clubs, 26. 

Progress by States — gleaned from Reports of 1907. — 
New Jersey is circulating an increasingly large number of 
traveling libraries. As an expression of its appreciation of 
this library influence a farmers' grange up-state passed a 
resolution that the " traveling library law has worked the 
more for the pleasure, culture, and welfare of the farming 
district than any law passed in years," 




One of the Dover Township schools, Union County, Ohio. J. B. Barker, 
Superintendent of these schools, has for some time been using traveling 
libraries from the Ohio State Library. 




Headquarters at Topeka from which many hundred traveling libraries are 
annually sent to every county in Kansas. 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 275 

Indiana reports that " the traveling library system op- 
erated by the commission shows a remarkable growth in 



Fig. 18. — The above map was prepared by the Ohio State Library Commis- 
sion. The dots indicate points to which 1,027 ^ ree traveling libraries 
(36,000 volumes) were sent in 1905. In 1908, the number of libraries 
issued was 1,031, aggregating 44,005 volumes. 



circulation. In 1901, 80 libraries were circulated from 
this system; in 1904, the number had grown to 258; 



276 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

during the last two years, 1132 traveling libraries were 
distributed." 

Nebraska states that " a system of traveling libraries has 
been inaugurated, consisting now of 106 libraries, which 
last year reached 177 different communities and had a 
total circulation of 32,780 volumes." 

From far and near good reports are flowing in. But 
the above will suffice to give an idea of the general spread 
of the movement. Indeed, I might add that at the time 
of this writing I have before me on my table reports of 
progress from states touching two oceans, Canada and the 
Gulf! 

Rural Teachers should understand Library Economy. — 
It is evident from what we have said above that every 
rural teacher should have some training in library economy. 
A great variety of schools now offer such courses. Col- 
leges, normal schools, and state library associations are all 
interested in lending their assistance. In some sections 
enterprising superintendents include library instruction in 
the work of their summer institutes. All teachers of to-day 
should be familiar with the Dewey system of library classi- 
fication, whether their particular school library permits 
of its use or not. They should be familiar with and ap- 
preciate the value of the wonderful store of information 
to be gleaned from the pages of the dictionary and the en- 
cyclopedia. Finally, teachers should know something 
about the use of Poole's Index, the Annual Library Index, 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 277 

or similar library helps, without which the value of much 
of the indispensable literature ever appearing in the peri- 
odicals must be lost. 

A Summary. — By way of summary : every rural school 
should have a working library. If it is not secured under 
provisions of state law, obligatory, conditional, or permis- 
sive, the teacher, together with the board and patrons, 
must somehow provide the ways and means. The teach- 
ers of this age must not alone know how to read ; they must 
know what to read. They must have a large acquaintance- 
ship with the best books and be lovers of these books. 
Then they must be able to transmit this knowledge and 
love to the children intrusted to their care, in order that 
these ennobling influences may have their share in making 
the farm home a place of happiness and contentment. 

FIRST ONE HUNDRED BOOKS FOR THE CHILDREN'S 
LIBRARY 

(Prepared by Clara W. Hunt, Brooklyn Public Library) 

Poetry 

Wheeler. Mother Goose's Melodies. Houghton. 
Stevenson. Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally. 
Ingpen. One Thousand Poems for Children. Jacobs. 
Wiggin and Smith. Golden Numbers. McClure. 
Repplier. Book of Famous Verse. Houghton. 

Bible Stories 

Bible for Children. Century. 

Moulton. Bible Stories: Old Testament. Macmillan. 



278 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Moulton. Bible Stories: New Testament. Macmillan. 
Hodges. When the King Came. Houghton. 
Gillie. The Story of Stories. Black. 
Tappan. The Christ Story. Houghton. 

Myths, Fairy Tales, etc. 
Kingsley. The Heroes; or, Greek Fairy Tales. Macmillan. 
Hawthorne. Wonder-book. Houghton. 

. Tanglewood Tales. Houghton. 

Lamb. Adventures of Ulysses. 

Brown. In the Days of Giants. Houghton. 

Baldwin. Story of Siegfried. Scribner. 

Scudder. Children's Book. Houghton. 

JEsof. Fables selected by Jacobs. Macmillan. 

Arabian Nights, ed. by Lang. Longmans. 

Grimm. Fairy Tales. Macmillan. 

Harris. Uncle Remus: his Songs and his Sayings. Appleton. 

Andersen. Fairy Tales. 

Dodgson. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Macmillan. 

Kipling. Jungle Book. Century. 

Macdonald. At the Back of the North Wind. Burt. 

Ruskin. King of the Golden River. Macmillan. 

Thackeray. The Rose and the Ring. Heath. 

Stories for the Younger Children 
Dodge. Baby Days. Century. 
Hale. Peterkin Papers. Houghton. 
Hopkins. The Sandman, his Farm Stories. Page. 
Jackson. Nelly's Silver Mine. Little. 
Rankin. Dandelion Cottage. Holt. 
Sherwood. Fairchild Family. Stokes. 
Smith. Jolly Good Times. Little. 
Spyri. Heidi. Ginn. 
White. When Molly was Six. Houghton. 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 279 

Some Literary Classics adapted to Children 
Bunyan. Pilgrim's Progress, illustrated by Rhead. Century. 
Cervantes-Saavedra. Don Quixote of the Mancha, retold by 

Parry. Lane. 
Chaucer. Tales of the Canterbury Pilgrims, retold by Darton. 

Stokes. 
Defoe. Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by Rhead. Russell. 
Froissart. Boys' Froissart — Lanier. Scribner. Stories from 

Froissart — Newbolt. Macmillan. 
Malory. Boys' King Arthur — Lanier. Scribner. 
Pyle. Story of King Arthur. Scribner. 

. Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Scribner. 

Shakespeare. Tales from Shakespeare — Lamb. Dutton. 
Shakespeare Story Book — Macleod. Gardner, Darton and Co. 
Spenser. Stories from the Faerie Queene — Macleod. Gardner, 

Darton and Co. 
Swift. Gulliver's Travels. Granford ed. Macmillan. 

Stories for Girls 
Alcott. Little Women. Little. 
Brown. Two College Girls. Houghton. 
Ewing. Six to Sixteen. Little. 
Jewett. Betty Leicester. Houghton. 
Keary. A York and a Lancaster Rose. Macmillan. 
Smith. Jolly Good Times Stories. 6 vols. Little. 
Shaw. Castle Blair. Heath. 
Taggart. Little Gray House. McClure. 
Vaile. The Orcutt Girls. Wilde. 

. Sue Orcutt. Wilde. 

Wiggin. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Houghton. 

Stories for Boys 
Aldrich. Story of a Bad Boy. Houghton. 
Brooks. Boy Emigrants. Scribner. 



280 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Bullen. Frank Brown, Sea Apprentice. Dutton. 

Eggleston. Hoosier Schoolboy. Scribner. 

Hughes. Tom Brown's School Days. Cranford ed. Macmillan. 

Huntington. His Majesty's Sloop Diamond Rock. Houghton. 

King. Cadet Days. Harper. 

Morrison. Chilhowee Boys. Crowell. 

Pendleton. King Tom and the Runaways. Appleton. 

Pyle. Men of Iron. Harper. 

Stevenson. Treasure Island. Scribner. 

Williams. Adventures of a Freshman. Scribner. 

Stories for Boys and Girls 
Clemens. The Prince and the Pauper. Harper. 
Dix. Merrylips. Macmillan. 

Dodge. Hans Brinker. New Amsterdam ed. Scribner. 
Ewing. Jackanapes. Little. 

. Story of a Short Life. Little. 

Sea well. Little Jarvis. Appleton. 
Wyss. Swiss Family Robinson. Dutton. 

Science, Nature Books 
Clodd. Childhood of the World. Kegan Paul, etc. 
Kingsley. Madam How and Lady Why. Macmillan. 
Beard. Curious Homes and their Tenants. Appleton. 
Cragin. Our Insect Friends and Foes; how to collect, preserve, 

and study Them. Putnam. 
Patterson. The Spinner Family. McClurg. 
Wood. A Natural History for Young People. Dutton. 

Miscellaneous Information 

Beard. Jack of All Trades. Scribner. 

. Indoor and Outdoor Handicraft. Scribner. 

Duncan. Mary's Garden and how it Grew. Century. 
Good. Magical Experiments. McKay. 



THE LIBRARY AND RURAL COMMUNITIES 281 

Hill. Fighting a Fire. Century. 
Ingersoll. Book of the Ocean. Century. 
Wheeler. Woodworking for Beginners. Putnam. 

History 

Yonge. Book of Golden Deeds. Macmillan. 
Griffis. Brave Little Holland. Houghton. 
Larned. History of England. Houghton. 
Dole. The Young Citizen. Heath. 
Coffin. Boys of '76. Harper. 
. Building the Nation. Harper. 

Travel 

Hale. Family Flight through France, Germany, Norway, and 

Switzerland. Lothrop. 
Lummis. Some Strange Corners of our Country. Century. 
Miller. Little People of Asia. Dunton. 
Mitton. Children's Book of London. Macmillan. 
Schwatka. Children of the Cold. Ed. Pub. Co. 

Biography 

Nicolay. Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln. Century. 
Parton. Captains of Industry. Houghton. 
Scudder. George Washington. Houghton. 



CHAPTER XIV 
Hygiene and Physical Education 

Modern Conception of Education emphasizes Care of 
the Human Body. — The marked tendency in our day to 
broaden the conception of education is well illustrated in 
the emphasis now being laid on the care of the human body. 
Enlightened mankind no longer holds to the fallacies of the 
early ascetics that the body is a thing of evil, which should 
be subjected to harsh discipline of all desires and affec- 
tions in order that the mind and soul might thus be set 
free to attend upon the higher interests of life. Nobody 
any longer doubts the truth of the old classic phrase, 
mens sana in cor pore sano. If anything, we of the new 
century are inclined to enlarge on Juvenal. We believe 
in the doctrine of a sound mind in a sound body. But the 
body is more than the home of the mind, is more than its 
" cottage of clay," as the poet puts it. For it provides 
the mind with shelter and nourishment. The mind grows, 
indeed, in the body much the same way as a plant in its 
soil. Let the soil be shallow and poor, and a stunted growth 
results; let it be deep and rich, and a splendid burst of 
bloom results. 

Twofold Emphasis of Modern Physical Education. — 
This emphasis on physical education becomes marked in 

282 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 283 

two distinct ways, which may be spoken of as, first, the 
individual good; second, the social good. In the first 
place, it dwells upon the intimate relation which exists 
between the physical condition of the individual child and 
his fitness at a given time for school work. To this phase 
of the subject the educator's work is mostly limited. In the 
second place, it manifests itself in an effort to improve the 
physical condition of the whole human race, without taking 
into consideration the effect upon mental efficiency. This 
phase of the work belongs to the social philosopher, and 
is well illustrated in the efforts of President Roosevelt's 
Country Life Commission, working to improve sanitary 
conditions in rural communities. It is further illustrated, 
in the cities, in careful medical inspection of schools, in 
multiplying playgrounds, in constructing athletic fields, 
in building gymnasiums, etc. 

Defectives and Low Standards of School Work. — Of 
first importance to teachers is a clear understanding of the 
relation of the child's physical condition to school efficiency. 
It is now clearly demonstrated that failure in studies, gen- 
eral apathy and dullness, extreme nervousness, and even 
viciousness on the part of many children are traceable to 
the existence of chronic ailments or to minor defects of a 
remediable nature. A recent medical examination in New 
York City, involving 134,000 school children, disclosed 
the startling fact that of 37,190 first-year pupils 69 per cent 
were defective; of 97,543 unclassified pupils 66 per cent 



284 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

had defects; and of 169 average pupils 84 per cent were 
ailing. In the school for backward children the per cent 
defective was 90, and among the truants it reached 95. 
Commenting on this state of affairs, Dr. Linsly R. Williams, 
chief of the clinic at Columbia University and an authority 
in this particular field, says : — 

There are numerous chronic ailments of childhood which ab- 
solutely prevent or militate against its receiving any instruction. 
The more important of these are serious congenital mental defects 
and defects of the heart or organs of speech. There exist, also, 
many minor defects, eradicable, provided the parents are informed 
that such defects exist. The existence of these minor defects such 
as squint, near-sightedness, adenoids, enlarged tonsils, bad teeth, 
nervous twitchings, and so on are not often discovered by the parents, 
nor is their seriousness realized until the child has for some time been 
under the influence of school life. 

The great importance of systematic examination of 
school children lies in this, that without it the defects would 
not be discovered until they had seriously impaired the 
physical condition of the child. In communities where 
special attention is paid to physical examination school 
work is unquestionably of the highest standard, infectious 
disease is reduced to a minimum, the general condition of 
health is greatly improved, and, withal, the children live 
happier, better lives for it. 

Boston School Nurses. — Massachusetts requires by 
law that all school children shall be examined for defective 
eyesight and hearing. Boston has gone still farther in 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 285 

this matter. Not alone does the city employ expert medi- 
cal inspectors, but its board of education employs a large 
corps of regularly examined and certified nurses, who are 
assigned to specific districts, working under the direction 
of the director of physical training. Some remarkable 
results have already come from their labors. They are 
ever vigilant — always on the watch for first signs of infec- 
tious diseases; they look after the cleanliness of the children 
and the general wholesomeness of the schoolroom; they 
relieve anxious and overwrought teachers, and assist and 
instruct ignorant parents. One can get a good idea of 
the scope and value of the work of these Boston nurses 
through a study of the figures below, which represent the 
concrete results of their first five months' work : — 



Fourteen hundred ninety-two cases of disease of the ear have 
been treated; 6078 eye cases and 1131 cases of defective vision 
corrected; disease of the nose, 2602 cases and 423 adenoids removed; 
diseases of the mouth, 1765 cases; throat, 1695; skin, 10,139; 
every case being cared for and followed to the home, where instruc- 
tion was given for the care of the patient. In addition to all this, 
9144 dressings were made by the nurses; 3120 excluded pupils 
were cared for at their homes; 3293 were taken to their family 
physician, 3202 of these last returning to school cured after a mini- 
mum period of absence; 7559 home visits were made for the purpose 
of advising or instructing parents concerning their children; 4772 
children were taken to hospitals with the consent of the parents, 
and many deeds of pure charity were scattered along the way. Each 
of these cases is carefully diagnosed and recorded so that the re- 
moval of a child from one district to another does not interfere with 



286 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

his medical treatment. ("Educational Progress for 1907," by 
Charles R. Allen, in the May, 1908, issue of the School Review.) 

All thinking people rejoice to know of the interest 
manifested in this phase of education in our cities. Medi- 
cal inspection is coming to the assistance of the schools 
from coast to coast. Moreover, special schools are being 
opened in several places for physically deficient pupils. 
Such are the Fresh Air School, at Providence, Rhode 
Island, and the Groszmann School for atypical children, 
at Plainfield, New Jersey. 

Relation of General Intelligence to Physical Education. 

— I repeat : all thinking men and women rejoice in this 
marked progress made in physical education. For it is 
established on high authority " that half of all human 
disability, suffering, and early death results from ignorance 

— ignorance either upon the part of the sufferers them- 
selves or upon that of those responsible for their existence." 
All the progressive nations of the world have placed great 
stress on physical education. The general intelligence and 
social strength of nations appear in an almost direct 
ratio to their appreciation of the laws of hygiene and 
physical nature. The Scandinavian countries are pioneers 
in this field, and in intelligence and social probity, too, 
they rank very high. Germany pays much attention to 
physical inspection and training of children and teachers 
in the laws of health. The results on German life and 
influence are too well known to need mention here. " The 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 287 

comparatively small loss of life on the part of the Japanese, 
in their war with Russia," says Professor Harry M. Shafer, 
" was not so much due to the inaccurate marksmanship 
of the Russians as it was to the rigid enforcement of laws 
of hygiene in the Japanese army. . . . Perhaps an 
investigation would reveal a cause more remote in the 
lives of these people ; it might show that the highly organ- 
ized service of medical inspection in the schools, employing 
nearly 9000 specialists, was the real cause of Japanese 
victory." 

The Teacher's Responsibility for his Pupils' Physical 
and Mental Health. — Every teacher should have a com- 
prehensive knowledge of practical hygiene and of its 
relation to school efficiency. He should be compelled by 
law, if necessary, to take every precaution known to medical 
science for the protection of the children under his care. 
But he should, in turn, have the backing of law to oblige 
recalcitrant school boards to lend him their every assist- 
ance. To begin with, let the teacher realize that he must 
be held responsible, in a measure, for the physical and 
mental health of his pupils. Nor does this responsibility 
end with the close of the school day or at the school ground 
limits. His responsibility may on occasion extend even 
beyond the threshold of the home. For, let every teacher 
bear well in mind that his is a profession of service — and 
to render service most effectually is its aim. If it becomes 
necessary to enter the homes of pupils to convince antago- 



288 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

nistic parents of the wisdom of a certain health regulation 
or to teach the ignorant the simple laws of health, the 
teacher must not falter in his duty. 

The teacher should be able to recognize the symptoms 
of diseases common to children, such as diphtheria, scarlet 
fever, measles, whooping cough, tonsilitis, and mumps; 
to disinfect the school building and all school furniture, 
and in other ways maintain proper sanitary conditions on 
the premises. He should be on the alert to discover defects 
in eyesight and hearing, nowadays so common in school 
children, and read the many signs of adenoidal conditions, 
nervous irritability, unusual fatigue, and other ailments 
which militate against health and prolongation of life. 

Some Simple Rules with which Teachers should be 
Conversant. — It is difficult, we are told by physicians, to 
lay down hard-and-fast rules by which to recognize in every 
case the symptoms of even the most common diseases. 
Sometimes "symptoms" deceive the skillful physician; 
under such circumstances the teacher can be pardoned if 
he does not always diagnose the case correctly. However, 
with the knowledge of a few simple facts about the visible 
development of certain diseases, the teacher may at least 
be led to suspect the nature of the malady, and so send the 
child home for the family physician to pass upon the case. 

Let every teacher who reads these pages study well the 
simple rules printed in the appendix of this book. They 
were prepared by L. M. Hyde, M.D., for one of the health 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 289 

bulletins sent out to his teachers by State Superintendent 
J. W. Olsen, of Minnesota, and may be the cause of 
sparing somebody both suffering and sorrow. 

The Teacher's Place in the Struggle against Disease. — 
The teacher should make a careful study of all the diseases 
which arc known to be caused by germs; viz. consumption, 
pneumonia, typhoid fever, la grippe, cholera, erysipelas, 
scarlet fever, chicken pox, and smallpox. He should not 
alone know the danger from the myriads of harmful germs 
which arc about us on every hand, but should take every 
precaution possible to minimize the danger of attack by 
keeping the schoolroom well ventilated and scrupulously 
clean, disinfecting floors, desks, and books frequently. 
Then he must give the children daily lessons on these dread 
enemies of life, and impress upon them while young the 
dreadful consequences of such scourges as the White 
Plague. Teach them the necessity of being particular 
about their drinking water — a glassful of impure water 
may contain enough typhoid germs to threaten death. 
Impress upon them the extreme danger which comes from 
expectorating on floors, sidewalks, or streets. The con- 
sumptive spits on the floor, the sputum dries, and the germs 
are carried upon the dust particles to find lodging in some 
convenient mouth or throat or lungs, there to abide their 
time for the attack when the victim chances to be run down 
physically, and so is unable to resist the poison thrown 
upon the system by the industrious enemy. 



290 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



How Disease Germs are Transmitted. — Professor Wil- 
liam O. Krohn, of Yale, gives the following summary of 




Diphtheria. 




Typhoid Fever. 




Asiatic Cholera. 




Hog Cholera. 



£]>£?<; 






Erysipelas. 



r* 



Consumption. 



Pneumonia. 



Fig. 19. — Microscopic appearance of some dreaded disease germs. 
(After Krohn.) 

how the most common contagious diseases of children 
spread : — 

Chicken Pox. — Indefinite; probably by the breath, drinking 
cups, and similar means. 

Measles. — By excretions from the nose; by the breath; by 
clothing. 

Whooping Cough. — By the breath; by expectorations from the 
throat and lungs. 

Scarlet Fever. — By contact with cast-off particles of skin from 
the patient; carried by clothing or by any article containing the 



ADENOIDS 




RIGHT" TONS1L 



The above illustration shows a large mass 
of adenoids growing in the nasopharyn- 
geal cavity of the throat. 




Pneumonia germs from a public school 
drinking cup, magnified iooo diam- 
eters. 




Microphotograph of decaying hu- 
man cells on a drinking cup. 
The diameter of the circular 
spot on the glass was one-fif- 
teenth of an inch. 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 29I 

poison; germ persistent a long time; can be destroyed only by fire 
or disinfection. 

La Grippe. — By a germ conveyed by travel, baggage, and in 
clothing; contagious; latest authorities isolate cases as rigidly as 
smallpox, because of serious results; in some cases even causes 
insanity. 

Diphtheria. — By the breath; by excretions from the throat 
and nose; germ persistent; similar to scarlet fever germ. Poor 
drainage, bad sewerage, and a wet cellar under the house are often 
contributory causes of diphtheria. 

Drinking Cups, Pencils, Books, etc. — Before leaving 
the subject of disease by germs the author cannot refrain 
from emphasizing more particularly the well-known danger 
from the promiscuous use of drinking cups, lead pencils, 
books, and the like by children in school. The well- 
equipped city school plant has solved the problem of 
the drinking cup by installing sanitary drinking foun- 
tains of running water, but not so the average village or 
rural school. Here, the only solution lies in using indi- 
vidual cups. The promiscuous use of lead pencils entails 
a similar danger. Children are prone to put pencils into 
the mouth, thereby making possible the spread of conta- 
gion. All much-handled books and paraphernalia be- 
longing to the district should be thoroughly disinfected 
at least once or twice a year. A simple apparatus for this 
purpose can be devised by almost any one with a mechanical 
bent of mind. 

In order to bring this serious matter home to every 
teacher, we cannot do better than to quote at length from 



292 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

an article in the Technical World (Chicago, August, 1908), 
contributed by Professor Alvin Davison, of Lafayette Col- 
lege. The article, which bears the startling heading 
" Death in School Drinking Cups," reads in part: — 

It is an established fact that a considerable number of well 
persons harbor in their mouths the germs of grippe, pneumonia, 
diphtheria, and tonsilitis. Examination of 4250 persons by the 
Massachusetts Association of the Boards of Health showed that over 
one hundred of them carried in their mouths virulent diphtheria 
germs. Pennington in 1907 found virulent diphtheria bacilli in 
nearly 5 per cent of a large number of apparently healthy school 
children in Philadelphia. In Minnesota true diphtheria germs 
were found in the mouths of seventy persons in every thousand 
examined. The average results of a large number of investigations 
demonstrate that nearly 1 per cent of well persons carry in their 
mouths true diphtheria germs. In Boston 60 per cent of all cases 
of common catarrh examined showed the presence of grippe bacilli. 
Considerable evidence is at hand showing that the germs of sore 
throat, pneumonia, and bronchitis are present in many people who 
mingle with the well and drink from the public cups. 

Professor Davison goes on to tell of his own investiga- 
tion in a striking fashion thus : — 

During the past six months I have investigated by means of direct 
microscopic examination, by cultures, and by guinea-pig injections 
the deposits present on various public drinking vessels. Cup No. 1, 
which had been in use nine days in a school, was a clear thin glass. 
It was broken into a number of pieces and properly stained for 
examination with a microscope magnifying 1000 diameters. The 
human cells scraped from the lips of the drinkers were so numerous 
on the upper third of the glass that the head of a pin could not be 
placed anywhere without touching several of these bits of skin. 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 293 

The saliva by running down on the inside of the glass had carried 
cells and bacteria to the bottom. Here, however, they were less 
than one third as abundant as at the brim. 

By counting the cells present on fifty different areas on the glass 
as seen under the microscope, it was estimated that the cup con- 
tained over 20,000 human cells or bits of dead skin. As many as 
150 germs were seen clinging to a single cell, and very few cells 
showed less than 10 germs. Between the cells were thousands of 
germs left there by the smears of saliva deposited by the drinkers. 
Not less than 100,000 bacteria were present on every square inch 
of the glass. Most of these were of the harmless kind abundant in 
the mouth, but some were apparently the germs of decay feeding 
upon the bits of the human body adhering to the cup. In order to 
determine how much material each drinker is likely to leave on the 
cup, I requested ten boys to apply the upper lip to pieces of clean, 
flat glass in the same way as they touched the cup in drinking. 
These glass slips thus soiled were properly stained for microscopic 
examination, which showed an average of about 100 cells and 75,000 
bacteria to each slip. 

And of greatest significance: Professor Davison's 
examination showed that very many of these germs were 
those of consumption, pneumonia, diphtheria, etc. 

Rural Teachers their Own Medical Inspectors. — What is 
said above concerns all teachers alike. The rural teacher 
should be as well versed in school hygiene and children's 
diseases as city teachers. It is true that in the country 
schools are smaller, the air is purer, children are more 
robust and less exposed to devitalizing influences than in 
the city. At the same time the rural teacher does not have 
a physician ready at his elbow in case of emergency. He 



294 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

must on this account be his own medical inspector. Every 
rural teacher should know enough about children's diseases 
to discover by their outward signs the common contagious, 
and, acting upon this knowledge, place the patient under a 
physician's care. He should be able to detect the minor 
eradicable defects in pupils under his care, as, for example, 
enlarged tonsils, adenoids, and incorrect vision. Then 
he should feel strong enough in his duty to insist that all 
such ailments be given immediate attention. 

Some people hold the false notion that children on the 
farm are largely exempt from the ills to which city folks 
are heir. Quite the contrary is true. Careful investiga- 
tion has disclosed that the rural population as a whole 
displays a startling degree of ignorance on subjects of 
health and sanitation. As President Roosevelt puts it in 
his special message on country life, " easily preventable 
diseases hold several million country people in the slavery 
of continuous ill health." Typhoid fever, malaria, ague, 
and pneumonia crave many victims annually. Improper 
drainage, impure water, and poor ventilation are some of 
the causes conspiring to heap these afflictions on our farm 
population. With a good teacher to look after the chil- 
dren's health in school and to train them in more sanitary 
habits, and to consult with and advise the parents, better 
conditions will be forthcoming. 

The Four Agencies of Physical Education. — Physical 
education in our schools manifests itself through the agen- 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 295 

cies of manual training, play, gymnastics, and athletics. 
These we may now consider so far as they relate to the 
rural schools. 

Manual training, as we have seen in another chapter, can 
be made an important factor in the intellectual, moral, and 
physical education of the farm boy and girl. It coordinates 
head, heart, and hand; it fosters mental, moral, and phys- 
ical habits of accuracy; it makes for dexterity and removal 
of awkwardness. In the school garden, in the experimen- 
tal patch, in all digging and spading and planting, it is 
instrumental in strengthening backs and straightening 
limbs. In all this outdoor work manual training makes 
the body a readier and stronger servant of the mind, and 
in so doing adds a hitherto unknown dignity to labor. 

Function of Play. — Play has an important place in 
school work. It protects the pupil from the enslavement 
of labor. It keeps his individuality strong and vigorous. 
It keeps his physical self in health and safe from too much 
or too continuous work. It is indeed true that " all work 
and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Human offspring 
simply cannot get along without play. Most animals play, 
and play instinctively. They do not need to be taught. 
And to interfere in their play is to interfere with some law 
of their natural development. There are times when 
children play because they have more stored-up vitality 
than they have use for. At other times they play in order 
to relax after strenuous effort and re-create exhausted en- 



296 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

ergy. At all times play is a sort of preparation for the 
activities to be entered upon later in life. " Thus," says 
Professor Home, " youthful play is nature's way of prepa- 
ration for later serious living. The kitten's ball is the old 
cat's mouse. . . . The girl's doll and the boy's soldier 
and horses are premonitory." During the first seven or 
eight years of life certain so-called " neuro-muscular com- 
binations " in the child system must be developed. To 
this end play is essential. 

Rural children are blessed with ample school grounds 
and an abundance of pure air. In these respects they are 
much more fortunate than city children whose playgrounds 
are generally cramped and far removed from the invigorat- 
ing ozone of the open country. Every rural teacher should 
encourage the children to engage in harmless games in 
this wholesome outdoor environment. He should frown 
down all indoor moping and insist that every child take 
some exercise in the open air. Lastly, the teacher should 
be as much as possible a participant in the children's 
sports, both for the reason that the teacher stands as much 
in need of the recreation and fresh air as do his pupils and 
because of the influence of his personality on the children's 
moral conduct. 

Gymnastics. — Gymnastics is a man-made system of 
physical exercise. It lacks much of the spontaneity of 
play, requiring a certain measure of mental strain and will 
assertion. As such it is not engaged in with the natural 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 297 

abandon which marks games and sports; but it is superior 
to these in physical development, because every part of 
the body receives attention. Gymnastics is designed to 
keep men from becoming warped and distorted by their 
occupations in life and to train and develop in them all 
the groups and combinations of body muscles which such 
ordinary activities as work, play, games, etc., cannot 
reach and accordingly leave unquickened. The aim is 
to approximate physically perfect men and women. The 
ancients, with the one exception of Athens, were strangers 
to our ideals. They trained the youth merely for the games 
and war. Among modern nations the Germans have 
produced Father Jahn and Spiess and their successors. 
Jahn was the first to emphasize the importance of propor- 
tional training of all physical powers of the human body 
and to see that with the renewal of hitherto latent or decay- 
ing powers comes a new-born exhilaration, a new motif, 
which in the strong, self-respecting man takes shape in 
such varied activities as patriotic ardor, civil morality, etc. 
We must employ in our schools some system of move- 
ments which shall straighten and strengthen stooped 
shoulders and curved spines, crooked legs and knees, and 
otherwise counteract and remedy the evils occasioned by 
the use of school desks. The difficulty is to discover a 
practical method of exercise which shall allow of sufficient 
individual variation for all purposes. No two children are 
constituted or developed alike physically; therefore, exer- 



298 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

cise by class is not the best method to pursue. Some 
children are most deficient in arms, others in shoulders, 
others again in legs, and so on to the end of the list. Each 
should have some individual attention. This the well- 
equipped high school and grammar school gymnasium in 
our cities with their trained physical directors can supply. 
Smaller places and rural communities must get along with 
less scientific methods; but nowhere need we get along 
without gymnastics in some form or other. 

Gymnastics in Every Rural School. — Do rural children 
need gymnastics? Our answer is that all children, no 
matter where they live, should have the benefit of such 
exercises. Farm children have the advantage of pure air, 
large playgrounds, and healthful walks along country 
lanes. But their physical development does not come one 
whit nearer the approximate of human perfection than 
in the cities. Country children are inclined to be ungainly 
and awkward, very often unshapely, bespeaking strength 
without the essential requisites of harmony and beauty. 
The shuffling footsteps, the ungainly bearing, so common 
in rural schoolchildren is proof of disproportionate physical 
development. Some youngsters, literally speaking, run 
altogether to hands and feet at the expense of other parts 
of their natural mechanism. Now what can we do to 
remedy these conditions ? 

Gymnastics in European Rural Schools. — The author 
has personally inspected the systems in vogue in many 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 299 

Danish and Swedish rural schools. The introduction of 
similar methods in our country would, no doubt, have a 
very salutary effect. The gymnastic exercises in these 
schools are divided into informal work with simple 
apparatus, aiming at individual perfection, and calis- 
thenics for the whole school, seeking class precision, 
symmetry of body, grace of movement, etc. 

To begin with, the boys' side of the playground is 
equipped with a well-built rack containing a half-dozen 
or more sets of horizontal bars. Back of this rises a 
frame of heavy timbers at least twenty feet high, from 
which hang two-inch ropes, four or more in number, 
and several smooth, rounded poles, all intended for 
climbing; at one end of the frame is suspended a set 
of ropes and rings, the nearest approach on the grounds 
to an apparatus for acrobatics. These simple instru- 
ments, when judiciously used, add amazingly to the de- 
velopment and strength of trunk and limbs. 

The girls' side of the grounds has its high and low swings, 
intended to combine play with exhilarating exercise. It 
is also provided with " chinning poles " — a sort of high 
horizontal bars — for strengthening hands, arms, and 
thorax. The apparatus are used under the direction of 
the teacher who gives formal lessons several times a week. 
For practice purposes, however, they may be used freely at 
all times. It is interesting to see how eager both boys and 
girls are to become proficient in their use. 



300 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

But the above is all incidental to the daily drills in calis- 
thenics, which are invariably held outdoors whenever the 
weather permits. The boys and girls assemble in separate 
groups and go through a series of exercises bringing into 
activity every important muscle in the body. The manual 
eliminates such exercises as might in any way be construed 
as immodest where the two sexes are concerned. The 
drill may be given with or without bells, clubs, and wands. 
It has the advantage of combining system with an abun- 
dance of pure air. When the weather is inclement the 
drill is given indoors, for some fifteen minutes at a time, 
both in the forenoon and the afternoon. Under such cir- 
cumstances instruments are never used. 

Similar drills can be used in every rural school. One or 
two states have gone so far as to prescribe a specific course 
of exercises and have placed the same in the hands of their 
teachers. School boards can generally be induced to con- 
struct the simple apparatus necessary. If not, the teacher 
and pupils can readily hit upon some way out of the 
difficulty. 

Athletics does not play enough of a role in the rural 
school to need discussion in these pages. 

Physical Education and Morals. — One word more 
before we close this chapter. Waste in school should not 
always be charged to physical unfitness of the pupil. 
Very often it may be accounted for by what we shall term 
his moral unfitness. A boy or girl whose mind is full of 



HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 301 

morbid thoughts cannot pay much attention to study. 
One of the most difficult problems in school management 
is encountered in our efforts to prevent the perversion of 
natural instincts through immoral suggestion. One or 
two vicious pupils can contaminate a whole school. The 
period of adolescence is very impressionable. At no other 
time is the pupil so receptive to moral or mental filth as 
this. Teachers who watch closely the physical condition 
of their pupils are apt to cope with such difficulties. Noth- 
ing is so effective in keeping mind and body pure as inter- 
esting games and plenty of wholesome physical exercise. 
The secret of a teacher's success in this domain must be 
measured in his ability to keep the pupils out of mischief 
by engaging all in wholesome exercise; in his vigilance 
and ability to detect every symptom of child depravity, 
and in his uncompromising severity in dealing with every 
case infringing upon the laws of morality. 



CHAPTER XV 

Consolidation of Schools 

General Statement. — We have purposely left the dis- 
cussion of consolidation or centralization for the conclud- 
ing chapter of the book. It has been alluded to time and 
again in the foregoing pages as the solution of many of 
our most vexing rural school problems. And, indeed, it 
has been difficult to write the book without making a good 
part of it an argument for consolidation. It has been the 
aim throughout to emphasize the new educational trend 
in its entirety, laying a special stress on the necessity to 
make the most of the new education in the one-room school 
while waiting for consolidation to come. But the leading 
thought running through the entire discussion has been 
that ultimate solution must be sought in consolidation. 

What, then, is meant by consolidation? What does it 
contemplate? We answer: It is a plan to reconstruct 
the rural schools on a new foundation which will reestab- 
lish the ancient principle of " equal rights to all." It con- 
templates the abandonment of the many small schools 
scattered throughout our country communities and the 
maintenance, instead, at points centrally located, of a few 
strong, well-graded schools. 

302 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 303 

Aim of our Free Schools: "Equal Rights to All." — 

Let it be kept well in mind that the free school system as 
established by our forefathers had for its purpose to extend 
equal opportunities to all members of the commonwealth. 
With this in view they established schools alike in village 
and outlying farm district. The latter were virtually as 
good as the village schools, for they were large and taught 
by schoolmasters, college-bred and trained. The system 
of free schools stands intact; but conditions have so 
changed with time that it no longer subserves its original 
purpose. In order to reestablish this educational equality 
it becomes necessary to give the twelve million boys and 
girls living in the rural communities just as thorough a 
preparation in school for their life work as we are now 
offering city children. Consolidation of rural schools is 
the practical remedy, and wherever given a fair trial it 
has proved conclusively that just as good, just as thorough- 
going schools may be made to flourish in the beneficent 
rural environment as in the city. 

What Consolidation Contemplates. — What consolida- 
tion really contemplates may be made clear by the follow- 
ing illustration: Let us take, say, a congressional township 
in a reasonably well-peopled section. We find it sub- 
divided possibly into nine school districts, with school- 
houses two miles apart, each of the well-known box-car 
type, dilapidated and unsightly; the lighting is faulty; 
scientific ventilation is unknown; modern sanitation is 



304 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

out of the question. Here a young, underpaid woman 
" keeps " school for a short term of months each year, 
endeavoring her very best to teach the whole curriculum 
from the A B C's to the high school subjects, some twenty 
to forty classes each day. Attendance is spasmodic; in- 
terest poorly sustained. The work can scarcely be called 
graded; teachers change with each term; and with every 
such change the children are " put back " to do over again 
work of which no record has been kept. In this way the 
poor youngsters " mark time " until they either grow too 
old to continue in school or they drop out from sheer 
lack of interest. And right here, parenthetically speaking, 
let it be understood that such conditions as here described 
— and they are very common — are inexcusable in this 
twentieth century, consolidation or no consolidation. We 
have emphasized elsewhere in this book that the small 
school cannot afford to wait for the coming of consolida- 
tion as the cure for all its ills; the school must do its own 
level best to meet present demands while waiting. 

To revert: consolidation will change all this. The 
nine one-room schools will be discontinued, and instead 
a modern school will rise, near the center of the township, 
which will afford every opportunity for practical prepara- 
tion for happy life on the farm. The school will be 
hygienic, and have modern equipment and better teachers. 
The course of study will be graded, recitation periods 
longer, interest well sustained, years in school longer. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 305 

Pupils living at a distance will be conveyed to school in 
suitable vehicles, avoiding exposure to inclement weather. 
Finally, consolidated schools can offer ample opportunities 
for thorough work in nature study, school gardening, and 
elementary agriculture, as well as manual training and 
domestic economy. 

Great Waste in the Small School. — The bane of the 
present system is its great waste. Of first importance 
and consequence is the mental waste and scattering of 
effort resulting from many teachers endeavoring to do for 
many small classes what a few teachers could do for a few 
large classes. Again, it can be shown conclusively that 
the many small schools are actually more expensive to 
maintain than the graded consolidated school. Dr. 
J. W. Robertson, the well-known leader of the Macdonald 
movement in Canada, made this statement in an address 
before a large number of farmers : — 

Suppose you start to a creamery with 100 pounds of milk, and 
45 pounds leak out on the way, could you make your business pay? 
And still, of every 100 children in the elementary schools, 45 of them 
fall out by the way — in other words, the average attendance is but 
55 per cent of the school children. The consolidated schools in the 
five eastern provinces, with their gardens, manual training, and 
domestic economy, now bring 97 of every 100 children to school 
every day and with no additional expense to you. 

Dr. Robertson speaks truly. Here in the United States 
we have allowed such unwarranted leakage to go unheeded 



306 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

entirely too long. It is high time to stop it. This con- 
solidation will do. 

Early History of Consolidation. — Consolidation has 
occupied the attention of educators in the East for a good 
many years. The notion held by some that this is a fad 
being foisted upon a long-suffering public by overzealous 
theorists is altogether without foundation. Consolidation 
was introduced in New England in the early '70's because 
it was the rural schools' only salvation. Other states 
westward have wisely followed New England's example, 
thereby solving a very serious problem. Three quarters 
of a century ago Horace Mann declared the Massachusetts 
Act of 1789 " the most unfortunate law on common school 
legislation ever enacted in the state." This law, it will be 
recalled, made the small district the unit of school admin- 
istration instead of the town (township) as hitherto. While 
he was secretary of the Massachusetts State Board the 
great educator was unceasing in his efforts to reestablish 
the town as the unit of control, although final success did 
not come until after his day. We read of Superintendent 
Horace Eaton, of Vermont, urging the abandonment of the 
weak schools as early as 1846. Some ten years later 
Superintendent Caleb Mills, of Indiana, seeing the great 
danger of multiplying small districts, " urged that the 
districts in the township be limited to four." 

Massachusetts passed a law authorizing consolidation 
in 1865, and four years later gave added efficiency to this 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 307 

step by enacting another law providing for the conveyance 
of children at public expense. The first successful experi- 
ment in the state was in the town (township) of Concord, 
the twelve schools of which were united in one strong cen- 
tral school in the course of the years 1870-1880. Since 
then consolidation has become operative to a greater or 
less extent in thirty-two states: California, Connecticut, 
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisi- 
ana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mis- 
souri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Caro- 
lina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 
To this list we may add Hawaii, the five provinces of the 
Dominion of Canada under the Macdonald movement, 
and parts of the Australian commonwealth. 

Passing of the "Little Red Schoolhouse." — New Eng- 
land began to abandon the small weak schools earlier than 
other sections, because it was the first to feel the disastrous 
results of disintegration of rural population and the exodus 
to the cities. The " little red schoolhouse " of song and 
story has been yielding for a long time now to the onward 
march of change; it has been growing ever smaller and 
weaker, more weather-beaten and less red than ever. 
Alas, for the sentiment which has so long hallowed the little 
old New England school! It played an important part 
in our early history in molding the life of the nation. 



3 o8 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



But sentiment must yield before economic necessity; 
with a sigh of regret, therefore, we behold the " little red 
schoolhouse " passing into the realm of sweet memory. 

Consolidation in Massachusetts. — The first stage of 
Massachusetts' consolidation was marked by a slow but 
sound growth — while public opinion could be enlightened 
and a sentiment for a higher standard of education created. 
Yet, once well under way, it has had a cumulative growth, 
which now practically embraces the whole state. The 
strength and extent of the movement can readily be de- 
termined from the following table of expenditures for 
free conveyance, taken from a recent report of the State 
Board of Education : — 



Year 


Amount 
Expended 


Year 


Amount 
Expended 


1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 








$ 22,118.38 
24,145.12 
30,648.68 
38,726.07 
50,590.41 
63,617.68 
76,608.29 
91,136.11 
I05.3I7-I3 


1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1 901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
I905 








$123,032.41 
127,409.22 
141,753.84 

15^773-47 
165,596.91 
178,297.64 
194,967.35 
213,220.93 
236,415-40 



Elsewhere in New England. — The example set by 
Massachusetts was soon followed by all the rest of New 
England. Connecticut began consolidation in a small 
way in 1889. Four years later the towns of the state 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 309 

were authorized by law to spend money for conveyance 
of pupils. All the towns which have adopted the town 
unit for school purposes (see Chapter III) find centraliz- 
ation and conveyance of children a satisfactory solution of 
the school problem. The last year reported by the State 
Board of Education (1903-1904) gives these data: number 
of schools closed during the year, 114; number of pupils 
conveyed, 1272; expenses, $21,739.83. 

New Hampshire, which truly sits in nature's fastnesses, 
has not permitted topographical difficulties to discourage 
the work of centralization and conveyance of children to 
strong schools. The work is making steady progress. 
These are some of the results : economy ; better teachers ; 
better supervision; greater regularity of attendance and 
greater punctuality; better educational spirit in and out 
of the school ; better roads, literary organization, and local 
enterprises. 

In Maine 653 weak schools were abandoned between 
1890 and 1905. Vermont conveys 8000 children at an 
expense of $36,000 per term. Rhode Island is steadily 
uniting the small schools and building substantial struc- 
tures at centrally located places. 

The Progressive Middle West. — Consolidation is having 
a remarkable growth in many states in the Middle West. 
In some it is caused by a change in industrial conditions, 
occasioning the abandonment of the farm for the city; in 
the youngest states where the cityward migration is not 



3IO THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

yet very apparent the cause is traceable to the undue 
multiplication of schools where they were not needed un- 
til small sickly schools could be found at almost every 
ambitious turnpike; in all the states it is having an en- 
couraging growth because the country population begins 
to realize that in this way only can their children get an 
education suited to the age in which they live. 

Ohio may be considered in many respects the model 
from which the other states drew their inspiration. Here 
consolidation originated in 1892. Ashtabula county, 
where it began, now boasts twenty-one thoroughly con- 
solidated schools. A glance at the consolidation maps of 
Ohio on pages 316 and 317 illustrates how the reform 
has spread and is yet spreading outward, embracing 
Trumbull, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Summit, Medina, 
Lorain, and many other counties. The number of con- 
solidated schools increased from 58 in 1904 to 157 in 1907, 
an increase of nearly a hundred in three years. 

In Indiana consolidation has been hastened by some 
very sound legislation. The law of 1901 permitted trustees 
to close schools having an average daily attendance of less 
than 12 pupils. Six years later it became obligatory to 
abandon all schools with an average daily attendance of 
12 or less, and permits the abandonment of schools with 
an attendance of 15 or less. The result: for thebiennium 
ending 1907, growth in consolidated schools from 280 to 
418; schools abandoned in 1904, 1906, and 1908, respec- 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 3II 

tively, 679, 830, and 13 14; pupils transported during the 
same years, 5356, 9424, and 16,034. 

Michigan reports much progress in uniting weak schools. 
Ten counties have tried consolidation and transportation 
of children with excellent results. 

The Wisconsin State Department of Education is urging 
consolidation in all small districts. A number of central- 
ized schools are already doing good work. Says State 
Superintendent C. P. Cary: "There is no question but 
what consolidation is the remedy for many of the unfavor- 
able conditions now surrounding the rural schools." 

Illinois has drawn its inspiration from Ohio. Thanks 
to the unceasing efforts of Superintendent O. J. Kern 
and a few others of kindred enthusiasm, the work is going 
forward at a gratifying pace. The first consolidated 
school was dedicated in Seward township, Winnebago 
county, Kern's own county, January 30, 1904. Johnson 
county, in southern Illinois, and Kane county, in north- 
ern Illinois, followed Winnebago county's example in 
helping to start the movement. County superin- 
tendents and state schools are vying with each other to 
see which can do the most for the movement. How well 
the work is being done may be appreciated from the 
report on the John Swaney Consolidated School later in 
this chapter. 

In 1906 Iowa disorganized 76 schools to form 30 con- 
solidated schools. Minnesota is transporting children in 



312 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

many counties. North Dakota has consolidated schools 
in satisfactory operation in 9 or 10 counties. Nebraska 
is making some progress. Kansas established its first 
such school in 1898 in Green Garden township, Ellsworth 
county. Up to 1907, 27 consolidated schools had been 
formed in 20 counties; besides which 130 school districts 
had discontinued their schools and transported their chil- 
dren to other schools. Even the new state of Oklahoma 
is planning for great things in consolidation. 

The South. — It is gratifying to see how the Southern 
states take to consolidation. When one considers the 
many difficulties that this section has to contend with, — 
difficulties practically unknown in the North, or at least 
experienced in a less marked degree, such as separate 
schools for the two races, a very scattered and, com- 
paratively speaking, impoverished rural population, — 
this progress speaks volumes for the educators who are 
helping to shape the New South. South of the Mason- 
Dixon line Maryland is carrying on an active cam- 
paign for consolidation, the sole aim being " to give 
the children better teaching and better school facilities." 
Baltimore county among others has six consolidated 
schools, transportation being in five by wagon and one 
by railroad. 

In Virginia the number of consolidated schools is on the 
increase, being 130 in 1906 and 162 in 1907. 

State Superintendent J. Y. Joyner, of North Carolina, 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 313 

declares that consolidation is rapidly driving the old log 
schoolhouse out of his state. He writes: — 

In 1906 there were 950 white and 165 colored schools having more 
than one teacher. This was an increase during the year of 99 white 
and 49 colored schools having more than one teacher. The increase 
of schools employing more than one teacher has also increased the 
number of rural schools giving some instruction in high school 
branches. In 1906 there were 968 white and 90 colored schools 
which gave some such instruction, being an increase during the year 
of 36 white and 32 colored schools attempting some high school 
instruction. 

South Carolina and Georgia are making progress. The 
former proves by actual figures that the system is cheaper 
to the taxpayers; that it raises the teachers' salaries; 
betters enrollment and daily attendance; lengthens the 
school year; and enriches the course of study. The latter 
finds progress rather slow, but has in spite of this attained 
good results. 

Florida, too, must be reckoned with. Its record is 
consolidated schools in 17 out of 44 counties, and other 
counties ready and favorable to consolidation. 

Louisiana has made marked advance in this respect 
under State Superintendent James B. Aswell's able ad- 
ministration. Parish after parish has united its wards 
(our districts), " building up larger schools and diminish- 
ing the cost of their maintenance." 

The West. — The Western states have not yet made any 
appreciable progress in consolidation of schools. The reason 



314 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

is not far to seek: a newly settled people — in many places, 
indeed, still in the process of settling; small com- 
munities, isolated one from another by stretch of waste 
plain or mountain ridge; a general want of good roads; 
and upon the whole a general newness and instability 
in population, which makes consolidation in some meas- 
ure impracticable. 

Utah reports central schools in steadily increasing 
numbers. Consolidation is practiced in many counties 
here, but on a rather small scale. 

Wyoming employs consolidation in a very few districts; 
but so far as the work has been carried it is reported 
successful. 

Oregon, on the far-away Pacific, is " meeting with very 
much encouragement." 

From the foregoing somewhat rambling report readers 
will appreciate that the movement to consolidate rural 
schools is becoming national in significance. That it is 
no longer an experiment, even the most conservative must 
acknowledge. If it has not always proved successful, it 
is not because the principle of consolidation in itself is 
wrong, but because it was not properly applied or local 
conditions were not given proper consideration. 

Now let us consider a few particular cases of successful 
consolidation. In this connection it is well to emphasize 
four types of consolidation: (1) partial, (2) complete, (3) 
centered in village, (4) purely rural. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 



315 



Partial Consolidation. — By partial consolidation is meant 
the grouping of two, three, or more schools at strategic 
points in the township, without aiming at ultimate centrali- 
zation of all the schools in the township at the geographi- 
cal center. This form of consolidation is practiced where 
the size or shape of the township or its natural contour 




2© Special Districts 
(go Sub-DistnctScrio»U. 



2® Special Districts, 
4 oflistariiei School! 
2HCcntrali«d Schools 
2 aSub-Dutrict Schools 



Fig. 20. — Map illustrating growth of consolidation in Madison township, 
Lake county, Ohio. (See text.) 



makes transportation of all pupils to one center impracti- 
cable. An excellent illustration is Madison township, 
Lake county, Ohio, where partial consolidation began in 
1892. The accompanying maps tell the story in a graphic 
way. The township which borders on Lake Erie is 
seven miles on the west side, nine on the east, and five 
miles wide. The distance by wagon from the extremes 
of the township to Madison village is seven miles, which 
is too far for satisfactory transportation of pupils. As 
a consequence centralization here has been at three or 



316 



THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 



four centers. The first map shows the special districts 
of Madison village and Unionville, together with eighteen 



r" Dt r.»NCI I HENRY!- WOOA t "NOUSKY , . «,E_ _"j. LWM -X-.-S' "£ '■ * £ T.V," L 

,* -, !• i *— - f ',■ r - v I - ! *: : 

"I I L„ • • HURON O r .'» •!# ■ PORTAGE.*-' 

paulo.ngT r I " NEC * J ■-»-/ MEtf,NA*> MMlT | Jmahoning' 

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"T _.,.-■! r <-' ! ! isHLANi • J— a r" J '" 

,!KWt«!r ' JwYANOOTCRAWFORCj l N J WAYNE j STARK < COIUMIIANA- 

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I J "-'---u... > r J | i [ T I CARROLL '• '--C 



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MERCER AUGLAIZE 



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Marion ' [ r'*- 1 ! «bOLMES i 

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.H-i 1 ! FAYETTE ! •—J-- ■ *"T"i I f 



h ^,-j "PW'«» f -J t— /-WASHINGTON, 

SUTLER ,' WARREN |CL "' T0N «L _/■ L -J" ! ! J~ 

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J. v- T /- ■ * h B> _ !]...,_ 

1 l i l tuAHLiNn r " 1 - -I ! 



I I hlOULANO 



!LAwrence". 



/Centralized schools marled. _• 
Half of subcriatrict schools 

I suspended r * 

'One or two school s suspend- 
ed ■ 



Fig. 2i. — This map tells the first chapter of Ohio consolidation and b 
for 1905 -1906. 

Centralized 32 

Half of subdistricts suspended 25 

One or two schools transferred to another .... 35 

Total 92 

small subdistricts. This was before consolidation was 
attempted. The second map illustrates the first stages of 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 



317 



consolidation between 1892 and 1906, during which period 
ten of the subdistricts were abandoned. Finally, the 




»»k*l«T"r---' ' M< ,Jv»YAI10OTC*Awr0««J 

r au" 1 . >iCMiANd 



«VS4 AW8 " ,rt rL... J UA,,l<> "U.0J-— 41 H ° tU " ! 5 Jam 
I ,, ■< ■! ""1... .J" {■ knox r-— — rr^cAtA-* -. j 0( 

I ^ •„,.., [ JimON ;-;T ■ CO.MOCTO..; .'HAMISOK 




IfMILI iOOUMV l_ t 



.•win iwA.R,„: e, -" ,To '' # L..J r « - L-j~- i ! ,/^ 
i ■S_J .,-■■ l« el V ' NT0N j V^ 



,. HAUIITON 



I HIQHLAND 



•T 



JjACK»0»lf 



'Centralized «choot« marked. _• 
If of »ubdi»trict Kjhootf 

•impended -- — • 

>Ote or two Khools suspend- 

til s 

Fig. 22. — The second chapter of the same story, covering 1906-1907. 

Centralized 38 

Half of subdistricts suspended 22 

One or two schools transferred to another .... 97 



Total 



157 



third map gives the schools as they were in 1907: two 
special districts, two good centralized schools, and only 



318 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

two subdistricts without the advantages of consolida- 
tion. 

Complete Consolidation. — Partial consolidation is very 
commonly practiced; but it is less satisfactory than the 
so-called complete consolidation unless, of course, a large 
enough number of subdistricts unite to establish schools 
offering thorough high school courses at these several 
centers. Complete consolidation, as indicated in the 
name, contemplates the centralization of every small 
school within the township at its geographical center. 
This insures the establishment of a high school depart- 
ment, offering just such studies as are adapted to farm 
needs. This type of consolidation is common and is on 
the rapid increase. It is well exemplified in Wea town- 
ship, Tippecanoe county, Indiana. The central school 
here is not so large as many others that could be men- 
tioned, but conditions are otherwise so near to being ideal 
that it will answer our purpose of illustration nicely. The 
report is from the pen of Township Trustee Fairfax 
Kirkpatrick, who writes: — 

The Wea Consolidated School, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. — 

This township is wholly rural, there being no villages or towns within 
its borders. It is six miles square, and most of the land is a part 
of the famed Wea Plains. The farms are large, making a small 
school population. Seven years ago this township maintained eleven 
district schools. Many of these were very small, the total enrollment 
in five of them being 60. About twelve years ago a two-room brick 
building was built in the center of the township, and one room 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 319 

was used to maintain a high school. So weak was this high school, 
unsupported by the grades, that it was a question whether it could 
survive. At one time it was wholly abandoned the greater part of 
a term. In 1903 the trustee, P. M. Tompson, abandoned school 
districts 5 and 9. District 9 was within three quarters of 
a mile of the two-room building, so no conveyance was needed. 
The pupils of District 5 were conveyed to the high school building, 
which now had two teachers. Other district schools were soon closed, 
and the two-room building was filled to overflowing. In 1904 an 
addition of two rooms was made to the building. In all, seven 
district schools have been abandoned and the pupils conveyed to the 
central school which now supports four teachers. At first the senti- 
ment was strongly opposed to centralization, but now about nine 
tenths of the patrons are pleased. The township now has three rural 
district schools, one of which will probably always be maintained. 
The other two may sometime be conveyed to the central school. 
There are now six wagons, most of them the best that can be had, 
running to the graded school. The results in this township show 
conclusively that the more complete the centralization, and the more 
wagons there are to the central school, the better the satisfaction. 
When there were but two or three wagons the routes were longer, 
and there was more doubling on the track. Now the wagons go 
more directly to the school and the majority of the pupils ride a much 
shorter distance. Each wagon is heated by a stove and is made 
comfortable. Each driver is paid $2 a day and furnishes his own 
hack. One hundred are transported. 

The central school has a large well-shaded ground. The building 
is heated by a furnace and is modern. For the benefit of the high 
school pupils who drive to school, the township has built a barn 
large enough for ten horses and buggies. The central school has 
a library of more than five hundred books. The school is organizing 
its work so that in a short time it will be as well organized as the best 
city school. One teacher who can do high grade music work is 
employed, and this teacher does all the music work of the school. 



320 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

A little further care in selecting teachers will give the school a teacher 
in drawing and penmanship, or a teacher of agriculture. The great- 
est drawback to the advanced organization of the school is the scarc- 
ity of teachers who can do this special work. 

Village Type of Consolidation. — A third type of con- 
solidated school results from closing rural schools and 
transporting to a neighboring village. This has its op- 
ponents who assert with much force that what is needed 
is not some additional convenience for sending children 
to village and city, to educate them away from the country, 
but educational facilities right out in the rural districts 
as good as there can be found in the city, which shall train 
for the farm, and for the farm only. Moreover, the larger 
villages are not inclined to adapt their course of study to 
suit country needs; nor could this be expected. Then the 
average American village offers temptations to the un- 
sophisticated country youth, which is pretty sure to leave 
him the worse morally for having come to "town." In 
some places where centralization has taken place in large 
villages attempts have been made to study agriculture and 
other subjects essential to the farm, and not without success. 
Still, in a majority of these villages the course continues 
to smack of the city. On the other hand, if the village is 
so small that it has none except rural interests, there is little 
reason why consolidation cannot be practiced there as 
well as in the open country. A large number of strong 
schools are situated in such villages in every state where 
consolidation is practiced. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 



321 



Burns Consolidated School, Marion County, Kansas. — 

Possibly the most successful consolidated school in 
Kansas is the Burns school, centered in Burns, Marion 







• 










j 












• 

1 










|* N04*~ 

i 

I J 


1 

1 
1 


ul 

H 

\x 


r -<_ 

1 

1 


-« ' 










I 


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i 


r 

1 

_. 1 


Ul 








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r 






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1 








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is 








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si 


















DOMES' SCK 
141 SCHOOL 


001 —~*i 


iRCCTIOMOf 
START/MO O 


■ K.OUTCS 
FBOVTTS 



Fig. 23. — Plan of the Burns consolidated district, giving central school, 
abandoned schools, and transportation routes. Each square represents 
a section of 640 acres. 



county, a village of some 450 people. The spirit, sym- 
pathies, and life of the place are purely rural. It may 
therefore be considered almost as safe though not so ideal 
a place for the school as the country proper. Moreover, 



32 2 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

it is well to consider the added opportunities which such 
a school extends to the weak, isolated village. 

Assistant State Superintendent C. C. Starr, who made 
a careful study of the Burns district in 1908, reports on his 
findings in part as follows : — 

The Burns school was consolidated in 1904. The district was 
originally formed out of five separate school districts. In 1906 an 
additional district made application for admission to the consolidated 
district, and it was admitted, so that now the consolidated district 
consists of what were originally six separate school districts, and 
the area comprised is forty-three square miles or considerably 
more than a congressional township. While the last district that 
joined the consolidated district is farther from the central school 
than is ordinarily advised for such districts, that district estimated 
that the advantages of the consolidated school would be superior 
to the disadvantages of the long distance to school. Experience 
has demonstrated the truth of this. 

Another district, lying outside, is sending seven pupils and paying 
their tuition. 

Before consolidation the Burns district employed two teachers 
and did not have a high school. The next year they had five teachers, 
and now six teachers are employed. The school occupies a modern 
six-room building. A four-year high school course is maintained 
which admits to the University of Kansas. Two high school teachers 
are employed, one of whom was added in 1907. 

While the population of Burns is about the same as the popula- 
tion of the remainder of the consolidated districts, a majority of the 
pupils attending the high school are from the country. The pupils 
in the upper grades (who recall their experience as pupils in the 
smaller rural schools) unanimously preferred the consolidated school. 
The reasons the pupils gave for their preference are as follows: 
their school now has better teachers, there are more pupils to 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 323 

associate with, the larger classes are more interesting, they make 
more progress, understand their lessons better, and the teachers 
have time to give the proper amount of attention to each subject. 
It is more agreeable to ride the long distance to school than to walk 
to the country schools. 

Upon inquiry from the pupils who attend from the country as to 
what their chances would have been of attending high school if the 
consolidated school had not been formed, a very large majority stated 
that the chances are that they would not have had the opportunity 
to secure a high school education. A few stated that they thought they 
would have been able to attend a high school, as their parents told 
them that they had intended to try to send them away to a high 
school. 

At the close of school I selected the wagon that goes to the most 
remote portion of the district, with a view of sharing the experience 
of the pupils while being transported. The distance to the end of 
the trip was ten and one half miles — a distance much greater than 
is ordinarily recommended for transportation. The time to make 
the trip was one hour and thirty minutes. The pupils stated that 
they liked to ride and did not get tired. Some said that they got 
a little cold sometimes — a suggestion that the wagons should be 
heated in the coldest weather. Neither drivers nor pupils expressed 
any dissatisfaction with the mode of transportation, and the people 
from the country with whom I conversed expressed themselves as 
being entirely satisfied with their system of transportation. 

After extensive inquiry, no person could be found in the district 
who would be willing to go back to the old system of separate small 
schools. There is a general belief that the schools are far better 
than under the old plan, and that the community, through consoli- 
dation, has taken a long step forward educationally. 

The Purely Rural Type. — The last type of consoli- 
dated school to call for consideration is the purely rural. 
This is the ideal type. It contemplates the establishment 



324 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

of the school right in the heart of the rural community, 
where the child can dwell in close communion with nature, 
away from the attractions and allurements of the city. 
In such an environment establish the farm child's school. 
Build it good and large; equip it with all the working 
tools necessary to the greatest measure of successful work. 
Add broad acres for beautiful grounds and garden and 
experimental areas. And surely the rural school problem 
will then be in a fair way to solution. 

An excellent example of the purely rural type is the John 
Swaney Consolidated School, in Putnam county, Illinois. 
This school was studied by the N. E. A. Committee on 
Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Communities 
and the results embodied in their report to the Cleveland 
Convention, 1908. It was selected for this purpose by the 
committee " as affording the best illustration of public 
sentiment, private liberality, and wise organization com- 
bined, that the committee was able to find in any con- 
solidated district in the United States." Superintendent 
O. J. Kern visited the school and reported it for the com- 
mittee of which he is a member. He says in part : — 

The John Swaney Consolidated Country School is located in 
Magnolia township, Putnam county, Illinois, beside a country 
road, two miles from the small village of McNabb. The building 
stands near the north side of a beautiful campus consisting of twenty- 
four acres of timber pasture. This campus was donated by Mr. 
John Swaney, who is a farmer of moderate circumstances, a man 
who believes in better things for country children. His was a worthy 




Consolidated school at North Madison, Madison Township, Lake County, 
Ohio. Eight conveyances filled with children may be seen lined up in the" 
foreground. (Courtesy of A. B. Graham, College of Agriculture, Colum- 
bus, Ohio.) 



3**1 



E&R& 



fi' GQQ 



ODD 



The John Swaney School, District 532, McNabb, Illinois. Irwin A. Mad- 
den, Principal. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 325 

deed in behalf of a worthy cause and should prove a suggestion and 
an inspiration to public-spirited farmers in other communities. 

The consolidated school is an illustration of the fundamental 
fact that if the country people want better schools in the country 
for country children, they must spend more money for education and 
spend it in a belter way. There is no other way. It is comparatively 
easy for a speaker before a farmers' institute meeting to gain the 
intellectual assent of the average farmer in the community to the 
above monetary proposition. But to go to the farmers on the 
morning after, and get their financial consent to vote bonds for a 
better equipment and make an increased tax levy for a better teach- 
ing force, is quite a different matter. And yet this actually is what 
must be done, and what has been done in Magnolia township. 

SOME FINANCIAL DATA 

Unit of Organization. — • The consolidated district^ comprises 
three ordinary country school districts that were consolidated by 
due process under the Illinois school law. 

John Swaney Consolidated School, Putnam County, Illinois. — 
Land Area and Valuation. — The consolidated district comprises 
fourteen sections of land, and the assessed valuation under the Illinois 
revenue law is one hundred seventy-nine ($179) dollars. By the 
Illinois revenue law the assessed valuation is supposed to represent 
one fifth of the fair cash value. It is upon the assessed valuation 
that all taxes are levied. The selling price of improved farms which 
comprise three fourths of the district is $150 per acre. The selling 
price of timber land which comprises the remaining one fourth is 
$75 per acre. 

School Levy. — The school levy for the school year of 1907-1908 
was $2900 for the building fund to pay bonds issued for the erection 
of the new building, and $3900 for general education purposes: 
securing better teachers, janitor service, etc. Twenty pupils are 
paying tuition at present, bringing in an annual revenue of $375. 



326 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

Practically all the money raised for school purposes in Illinois is 
raised by local taxation. 



THE BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT 

The school is housed in a $12,000 two and a half story brick 
building, containing four recitation rooms, two laboratories, large 
auditorium, two library and office rooms, a boys' manual training 
room, a girls' playroom, furnace room, and cloak room. All are 
lighted with gasoline gas generated by a plant, the reservoir of which 
is stored outside of the building. The laboratories are also furnished 
with gas from this plant. The building is heated with steam and 
furnished with running water supplied by an air pressure system. 
The building and equipment cost $16,000. 

Donations. — There are people living in this consolidated dis- 
trict and community who are unselfish enough and who have suffi- 
cient faith in the consolidation of schools to aid the movement by 
material gifts. As a consequence the beautiful campus of twenty- 
four acres was donated by Mr. John Swaney. County Superin- 
tendent G. W. Hunt gave a set of manual training tools. Besides 
these, the John Kay estate, W. G. Griffith, F. E. Smith, John Wilson, 
Perry Mills, W. L. Mills, and Louis Priebe gave neat sums of money. 
In all about $2000, besides the grounds, were donated to the school. 

Wagons and Cost. — Two teams are employed in bringing the 
children from two of the old districts. The wagons cost $175 each 
and are owned by the district. Distance, round trip for one wagon, 
is nine miles, and nine and one half miles for the other. Drivers 
of the wagons are farmer boys living in the community who are in 
the high school room. The horses are put in the school barn located 
on the campus. Each team costs $40 per month for twenty-two 
round trips, thus making an outlay of $1.82 per day for each wagon. 
As each wagon carries twenty children, the cost per pupil daily is 
nine cents, about the cost of two street car fares in the city. 

Grounds. — No finer environment, perhaps, can be found for a 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 327 

country school. The grounds, twenty-four acres in extent, are 
dotted with groups of the native forest trees. It is the purpose of 
the district to beautify the grounds still further according to a plan 
prepared by the Horticultural Department of the Illinois College 
of Agriculture. 

The Teachers' Home. — Four or five farmers, at their own expense, 
fitted up one of the abandoned schoolhouses for a teachers' home, 
thus solving the problem of a boarding place for the teachers. The 
cost to the farmers was $500. The teachers pay $9 a month rent 
and hire an elderly woman for housekeeper. The teachers club to- 
gether for the living expenses of the home. 

Janitor's Home. — An old tenant building located on the school 
grounds was fitted up for a janitor's home. The janitor has charge 
of the grounds, school building, and stables. He receives a salary of 
$30 a month and pays $5 per month for his home. 

In this sylvan retreat, fitted with everything essential 
for school work, the boys and girls of Magnolia township 
learn to know nature and to love it. Here they early 
learn to know that they are indigenous to the soil ; that here 
they must live and die. Give us many such schools, and 
the farm youth is in no danger of leaving the farm ! 

High School Work in the John Swaney School. — For a 
lack of space we cannot give the details of all the work 
in the Swaney School. This much, however: the pupils 
below the high school are taught by normal graduates 
of careful training and experience, who receive a salary 
each of $60 per month for nine months. The principal 
is a normal graduate, who has had additional training 
in the Illinois College of Agriculture. He receives $100 
per month. His assistant has had special preparation in 



328 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

domestic science, and receives $60 per month. (We 
dwell with much satisfaction on these statements; for 
here we have found one country community that demands 
trained teachers and is ready to pay a fair remuner- 
ation.) 

The high school course of study is planned for country 
boys and girls. While the culture studies are not neglected, 
farm interests are emphasized in the study of agriculture, 
manual training, and domestic science. Here follows the 
complete course of study : 

FIRST YEAR 

First Semester Second Semester 

English I. English I. 

Algebra. Algebra. 

Physiology. Physical Geography. 

Agronomy I or Latin. Horticulture or Latin. 

Household Science or Manual Household Science or Manual 
Training. Training. 

SECOND YEAR 

English II. English II. 

Algebra, 10 weeks. Geometry. 

Geometry, 10 weeks. Botany. 

Zoology. Ancient History, 10 weeks. 

Ancient History. Animal Husbandry or Household 

Science, 10 weeks. 

Drawing. Music. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 



3 2 9 



THIRD YEAR 



English III. 
Chemistry. 

Agronomy II or Latin or House- 
hold Science. 
English History. 



English III. 

Chemistry. 

Animal Husbandry or Latin or 

Household Science. 
English History. 



FOURTH YEAR 



English IV. 

Physics. 

Household Science or Agronomy 

III. 
American History. 



English IV. 

Physics. 

Bookkeeping, 10 weeks. 

Arithmetic, 20 weeks. 

Civics. 



Excellent courses are offered in household science, 
manual training, and agriculture. The latter deals with 
the theory of agriculture, soil physics, soil fertility, animal 
husbandry, and horticulture. 

In order that the state may learn the needs and methods of im- 
provement of its different large soil areas, experiment stations are 
established in these areas; in all there are now twenty-three. One 
of these stations is now being installed adjoining the campus on the 
east. This station contains a plot of ground consisting of six acres 
and is divided into four series with five breeding plats in each series. 
This is to be conducted by the state, but the school will have the 
privilege of observing the work of the station, and will have access 
to the records of results. 



330 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

A plan of the ground is given here : — 

EXPERIMENT STATION 

SERIES I 



12 3 4 5 



12 3 4 5 



SERIES III 



12 3 4 5 



SERIES IV 



12 3 4 5 



Series I will be planted to corn; Series II to oats and clover; 
Series III to oats; Series IV to cowpeas, in 1907. Plats 2 and 4 have 
been fertilized with rock phosphate. The others were not. 

Consolidation : Advantages and Objections. — We have 
now dwelt at some length on four consolidated schools, 
representing as many states. Enough has been told to 
give the reader an idea of their organization and effective- 
ness of their working plans. At this point writers on con- 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 33 1 

solidation usually take time to summarize the advantages 
of the system and to state the objections urged against 
it. It is scarcely necessary to take up any further space 
in these pages with an enumeration of the manifold ad- 
vantages due to consolidation. The reader has gathered 
enough from the discussion above to realize that these 
advantages are very many and weighty. For additional 
summaries he may make a study of the excellent books and 
pamphlets on the subjects enumerated at the close of the 
chapter. The objections, also, may be passed over lightly. 
Some of these are of a sentimental nature and must yield 
to economic necessity. Others which at one time seemed 
valid enough have been proved fallacious by the experi- 
ence of years of successful consolidation. The objection 
most frequently urged is that the cost under the new 
plan is greater. We have ample figures to prove that 
consolidation may be carried on at just as small an outlay 
as under the old system. Under complete consolida- 
tion the gross cost is undeniably greater; but when we 
consider the added effectiveness of the new schools in the 
matter of increase and regularity of attendance, general 
economy, and ultimate educational effectiveness, the net 
individual cost is far less than under the passing regime. 
A Closing Word. — This offers an opportunity to speak 
a closing word. The plea throughout the book has been 
for a return to that equality of opportunity on which our 
common school system was built. This equality no longer 



332 THE AMERICAN RURAL SCHOOL 

exists except in theory. The farm youth has not had a 
square deal. And the fundamental cause of it all is that 
our rural population does not spend enough money on the 
education of their boys and girls, nor does it spend this 
money to the best advantage. To-day the farmer spends 
$13.17 for the education of his children every time the 
city dweller spends $33.01 ! Can further argument be 
necessary ? And much of what is invested in rural educa- 
tion is spent to poor advantage in feeble, poorly instructed 
schools which could just as well be abandoned or con- 
solidated. 

Let every one who reads these pages become a self- 
appointed herald to proclaim the new rural school educa- 
tion; to go into every countryside and preach the new 
doctrine ; to do everything in his power to create sentiment 
favoring better schools and better teaching. Then shall 
come a bright dawn for the youth of the farm ! 

A SELECTED REFERENCE LIST OF BOOKS, PAM- 
PHLETS, AND SPECIAL ARTICLES ON CONSOLIDA- 
TION 

1. Aswell, James B. The Consolidation of School Districts. 

Issued by the state of Louisiana, Department of Educa- 
tion, Baton Rouge, 1906. pp. 77. 

2. Consolidation and Transportation. Issued by the state of New 

Hampshire, Department of Education, Concord, pp. 12. 

3. Cotton, Fassett A. Twenty-third Annual Report of the State 

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Indianapolis. Espe- 
cially chapter on Consolidation. 



CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 333 

4. Davenport, E. Consolidation of our Schools. University of 

Illinois, Urbana, 1904. 

5. Fairchild, E. T. Consolidation of Rural Schools. Topeka, 

1908. pp. 48. 

6. Fletcher, G. F. The Consolidation of Schools and the Con- 

veyance of Children. Issued by the Massachusetts Board of 
Education, Boston, pp. 25. 

7. Fowler, William K. Consolidation of Districts, the Central- 

ization of Rural Schools, and the Transportation of Pupils 
at Public Expense. Issued by the Department of Public In- 
struction, Lincoln, 1903. 

8. Graham, A. B. Centralized Schools in Ohio. The Agricul- 

tural College Bulletin, No. 6, Columbus, 1907. pp. 24. 

9. Kelley, Patrick H. Consolidation of School Districts. Is- 

sued by the Michigan Department of Education, Lans- 
ing, 1906. pp. 23. 

10. Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools. Ginn and Co., 

Chicago, 1906. Price $1.25. Especially chapter on Con- 
solidation. 

11. Annual Report, Winnebago County Schools, Rockford, 

1908. pp. 96. 

12. Longsdorf, H. H. The Consolidation of Country Schools. 

Published by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 
Harrisburg, 1901. pp. 89. 

13. Proceedings of the National Education Association for the 

following years: 1901, pp. 804-811; 1902, pp. 224-231 and 
793-798; 1903, PP- 9^-936 ; 1904, PP- 3*3~3 l6 ; ^06, pp. 
337, 338> i9°7, PP- 2 77-279; ^oS, PP- 420-431 and 1054- 
1060. 

14. Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools. Pub- 

lished by the University of Chicago, 1905. 

15. Tenth Annual Report of the Illinois Farmers' Institute, Spring- 

field, 1905. Especially pp. 208-213. 



APPENDIX A 

Appendix A. — Permanent School Funds 1 





Permanent Com- 


Total Value of 


State or Territory 


mon School 
Funds, State 


Permanent Funds 
and Productive 




and Local 


Lands 


United States 


$218,973,736 






North Atlantic Division 


23^56,319 






South Atlantic Division 

South Central Division 

North Central Division 


4,661,103 

52,071,271 

112,900,359 












25,984,684 






North Atlantic Division: 








445.7 16 
59.470 




New Hampshire (i 904-1 905) . . 


$ 59,470 




1,120,218 


1,120,218 


Massachusetts (1905-1906) . . . 


4,980,111 






Rhode Island (1904-1905) . . 


257,414 






Connecticut (1905-1906) .... 


3,060,097 






New York (1 905-1 906) .... 


8,996,863 


8,996,863 


New Jersey (1904-1905) .... 


4,436,43 






Pennsylvania 








South Atlantic Division: 








350,000 


350,000 


Maryland 












Virginia 


2,025,736 


2,025,736 




1,000,000 


1,000,000 


North Carolina (1903-1904) . . . 


200,000 


200,000 


South Carolina 










Florida (1905-1906) 


1,085,367 







'This table, which is compiled from the U. S. School Commissioner's report for 1907, 
does not take into account unproductive school lands. 

335 



336 



APPENDIX A 



Appendix A — Continued 



State or Territory 



Permanent Com- 
mon School 
Funds, State 
and Local 



Total Value of 

Permanent Funds 

and Productive 

Lands 



South Central Division: 

Kentucky (1901-1902) . . 

Tennessee (1 905-1 906) 

Alabama (1902-1903) . . 

Mississippi (1902-1903) 

Louisiana 

Texas (1904-1905) . . . 

Arkansas 

Oklahoma 

Indian Territory 
North Central Division: 

Ohio (1901-1902) . . . 

Indiana 

Illinois (1905-1906) . . . 

Michigan (1 904-1 905) . . 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

North Dakota . . . . 

South Dakota (1 905-1 906) 

Nebraska 

Kansas (1904-1905) . . 
Western Division: 

Montana (1905-1906) . . 

Wyoming 

Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Washington 

Oregon 

California 



2,3*5,627 
2,512,000 

2,i3S.3i3 
3,466,667 

39,421,018 
1,135,279 



2,315,627 

io,845»348 

17,656,923 

5,228,333 

6,214,623 

19,000,000 

4,778,369 
I3»348,348 
14,000,000 
4,850,014 
6,949,444 
7,553,33° 

1,120,439 

i9i,973 

i,433>°59 

24,791 

i,9 I 3, 8 5° 
3,065,167 
1,197,012 
6,492,000 

5,232,343 
S»3 I 4,oSo 



49,921,01c 



6,214,623 
19,000,000 



22,000,000 

30,850,014 

18,949,444 

7,803,330 

4,120,439 

2,691,973' 

26,015,462 

883,117 

2,185,907 



16,146,980 
5,232,343 



APPENDIX B 337 

APPENDIX B 

Mr. S. J. Race, of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, some 
years ago wrote an admirable article on Rural School 
Heating and Ventilation in the American School Board 
Journal, which describes how to transform an ordinary 
heater into a ventilating stove so well that I take the 
liberty to quote him at length. He says: — 

Mr. S. J. Race on Rural School Heating and Ventilation. — There 
is no reason why the small rural school cannot be provided with an 
adequate system of warming and ventilation. The physical welfare 
of pupil and teacher demands it. Health is wealth. The cost 
should not exceed $50. This allows for rebuilding the chimney from 
the foundation. I would recommend a single flue 12 x 16 inches. 
This will give a chimney with an outside measurement of 16x24 
inches. We have tried double-flue chimneys, with two flues, each 
8 x 12 and 12x12 inches, respectively. They work well, but a single 
flue is somewhat better. The flue is warmer, and hence the outward 
and upward movement of the foul air is better. 

The iron register, 12X16 inches, for opening measurement, 
should go into the chimney within 4 inches from the floor (do not put 
any in the chimney near the ceiling). Place the stove in a corner, 
the one most out of the way. Do not put it in the center of the room 
where it would be in the way. 

Cut a hole in the floor, 10 x 14 inches, over which place an iron 
register. Connect this opening with a box 10 x 10 inches wide and 
long enough to reach from the register in the floor to the outside of 
the foundation. Cover the end of the box with a coarse wire screen to 
keep out any animals. The box may be of wood or of galvanized 
iron. Wood, I believe, is preferable. Surround the stove with a 
circular galvanized-iron jacket 6 feet high and from 34 to 40 inches 



338 APPENDIX C 

in diameter. The stove will determine the diameter of the jacket. 
Measure the diagonal base of the stove to determine the diameter of 
the jacket. Cut a door 2% feet by 4 feet in the jacket for removing 
the ashes and feeding the fire. Have the jacket strongly made. See 
to it that the door in the jacket is properly arranged so that the ashes 
may be easily removed. 

I am often asked by school trustees whether if the stove were 
placed in the middle of the room, will not the heat be more uniformly 
distributed ? I do not see how it can be. By this plan all the heat 
in the stove is forced by the flow of pure air from the outside through 
the fresh-air box, directly to within a few feet from the ceiling. The 
only escape for it is through the foul-air register in the chimney near 
the floor. The escape is by pressure. In a recent test of six school- 
houses the greatest variation found was 3 degrees, when measured. 



APPENDIX C 

I. EARTH AND SKY 

There are four leading categories in this group: (1) the weather; 
(2) the natural events of the year; (3) the conformation of the sur- 
rounding country; (4) survey of a brook or other strong natural 
feature of the region. 

1. The Weather. — First year: The child should observe and 
tell what the weather is, and should begin to learn to be weather-wise 
and to know the "signs" of the weather. Second year: Clouds, 
sunshine, and shadow, both indoors and outdoors; sundial. Third 
year: Wind; making and flying kites; weather vanes; chimney hoods ; 
effect of wind on shape of trees; begin weather record, perhaps as 
blackboard exercise. Fourth year: Temperature; begin ther- 
mometer readings; continue record, perhaps in notebook. Fifth 
year: Barometer; weather maps, signals, and forecasts. 

2. Events of the Year. — First year: Note the change of seasons; 
position of the sun at different seasons; holidays. Second year: 



APPENDIX C 339 

Begin seasonal observations, chiefly on date of appearing of frogs 
migrations of birds, etc. Third year: The calendar; continue ob- 
servations, chiefly on trees, fruit trees, etc. ; begin a record, perhaps 
on blackboard. Fourth year: Continue observations, taking up the 
farming industries if in the country; times of plowing, tilling, sowing, 
harvesting, wood hauling, fence building, etc.; making a diary of 
work in the community. 

3. Scenery, or Conformation of Region. — Second year: General 
observations as to contour of country, perhaps as seen from school- 
room windows. Third year: More detailed observations, classify- 
ing into swamps, hills, flats, woodlands, river-beds, orchards, grazing 
lands, etc. Fourth year: Describe the scenery in oral and written 
work; how the scenery can be improved. Fifth year: Observations 
on a particular area, one farm, the school yard, the main road, etc. ; 
make charts and drawings. 

4. Survey. —Third year: Begin a regular "survey" of a brook 
or other prominent natural feature of the region; it is better if the 
feature is near the schoolhouse; the first work will be chiefly ex- 
ploration. Fourth year: Continue survey; begin to take definite 
measurements of the brook, width, depth, length, tributaries, pools, 
etc. Fifth year: Continue; describe the brook; make charts; deter- 
mine the drainage basin and how the brook affects its region. 

II. ANIMALS 

The purposes of the animal work are chiefly three: (1) to deter- 
mine the animal population of the region; (2) to discover how the 
animals are related to their environment (ecology); (3) to study 
particular animals or groups of animals. 

1. Population. — First year: How many kinds of mammals, 
birds, insects, etc., does the child know? Let the child be kept on 
the lookout; train his observation; always include the farm animals 
within the scope of the observation. Second year: Carry the obser- 
vation further, with birds. Third year: Further with mammals. 



34° APPENDIX C 

Fourth year: Further with fish, frogs, salamanders, etc.; aquarium. 
Fifth year: Insects; terrarium. 

2. Relations. — Second year: Where do the different birds live? 
What do they eat? nesting habits; classify as to habitats. Third 
year: Same with mammals. Fourth year: Same with fish, etc. 
Fifth year: Same with insects. 

3. Particular Animals. — First year: Canary; cat. Second year: 
Robin; chicken; rabbit; dog; woolly bear; goldfish. Third year: 
Pigeon or dove ; house or English sparrow; frog; turtle; cow; tent 
caterpillar or cabbage butterfly. Fourth year: Bluebird; blackbird; 
crow; toad; squirrel and chipmunk; horse and mule; mouse; 
cricket. Fifth year: Poultry; salamanders; fish; water insects; 
moths and butterflies; sheep and goats ; pigs; woodpeckers, thrushes, 
warblers, sparrows, and other bird groups. 

III. PLANTS 

' The purposes of plant work are similar to those of animal work: 
(1) to determine the plant population of the region; (2) plant rela- 
tion (ecology) ; (3) particular plants and parts of plants. 

1. Population. — First year: Plant population, as for animals. 
Second year: Observations with garden flowers and vegetables. 
Third year: Wild flowers; preservation of the wild flowers. Fourth 
year: Continue with bushes. Fifth year: Continue with trees. 

2. Relations. — Second year: As with animals; habitats, etc., 
particularly with garden plants; distribution of seeds will be an 
incident in this and succeeding years. Third year: Continue, with 
wild flowers and weeds. Fourth year: Same with bushes. Fifth 
year: Same with trees; plant population of hills, swamps, open fields, 
etc. 

3. Particular Plants and Parts of Plants. — Second year: Leaves; 
roots; flowers; seeds; fruits; some common vegetable or grain; 
strawberry. Third year: Hepatica, trillium, spring beauty, arbutus, 
or other early spring flowers; pussy willow; dandelion; sod and 
grass; morning glory; ferns; sweet pea; daisy; asters; goldenrod. 



APPENDIX C 34I 

Fourth year: Lilac; rose; elder; willows; snowball; sumac; 
hawthorn; blackberries; raspberries; currants and gooseberries; 
Virginia creeper; grapevine. Fifth year: Evergreens; elms; maples; 
oaks; ashes; hickories and other nut trees; fruit trees. 

The committee has prepared a number of complete lessons to 
illustrate "why and how the work may be taken up." One of these 
we have taken the liberty to reproduce below. The pamphlet, 
which deals with all the different phases of industrial education 
in rural communities, is of great value to rural teachers, who should 
not fail to send for a copy. Get it from the secretary of the N.E.A. 
It costs only ten cents. 

THIRD GRADE: A RAIN STORM 

Purpose of the Lesson. — (1) To put the pupil in the right attitude 
toward weather. (2) To interest the pupil in the changes to be 
seen in the out-of-doors after a storm; to lay foundations for geog- 
raphy lessons. 

The Lesson. — Although discussion of a rain storm may take place 
profitably in the first and second grades, the best time for continued 
observation will be the third year in school. Then the pupils are 
ready to do some independent observing, and they can seek certain 
definite results of the storm. 

The spring shower comes up suddenly; the room darkens and the 
children cannot see to work. This is the time to have them feel the 
part that the rain storm takes in their lives. It will be restful to lay 
all books aside, to clear the desks, and study the shower. Can the 
rain be heard on the roof? How cheery it sounds! With closed 
eyes you know that the drops are coming down thick and fast. Let 
us go to the windows. It is interesting to watch the water dash 
against the panes and roll down; to see it falling on the trees and 
flowers; to think what it means to the fields. How fast the streams 
flow in the gutters and ruts in the road! Why? How muddy the 
rills and rivulets are! Why? Where are the birds? What a good 
time robin is having out there in the rain! Do you suppose the 



342 APPENDIX D 

squirrel dislikes the rain? Do the wild animals run for cover? Are 
the cows and horses in the fields in a hurry to seek shelter from the 
storm ? 

The nature of the rain itself should be noted: drops large or 
small? Very numerous or relatively few on the pane? Does the 
rain fall straight down or does it come slanting ? Does it strike hard ? 
Does it seem to come from a great height, or are the clouds low? 
Let the first few drops strike on a clean piece of glass, then dry the 
glass. Is the glass soiled? Why? Catch some of the last drops 
in the same way. 

It frequently happens that the spring showers are heavy and 
brief. They cease before the close of school. The wise teacher 
will go out with the children to see the results of the storm. If her 
class is large, she can limit the observations to one or two definite 
things ; as, for instance, the flowing of the water, making tiny valleys 
and carrying the waste material; but if there is time, she may take 
this opportunity for teaching some of the land and water forms, for 
after a shower these are present in miniature and are best taught 
afield. If the class is large, preparation for this lesson can be made 
by means of sand and clay maps, and then the children may be told 
what kinds of things to seek before leaving the schoolhouse. Young 
people enjoy a particular quest. Who will be the first to find an 
island, a peninsula, a lake, a mountain, a valley, a delta, a mountain 
range ? Then will come the question, How are these land and water 
forms made? 

APPENDIX D 

The list of shrubs appended below are taken from Hunn 
and Bailey's Practical Garden Book and may be suggestive. 
They are especially well adapted to Northern conditions: — 

Barberries. 

Box. 

Burning Bush or Euonymus. 



APPENDIX D 343 



Bush Honeysuckles. 

Bush Willows. 

Caryopteris, blooming in August and September. 

Cotoneasters. 

Desmodiums or Lespedezas, blooming in fall. 

Dwarf Sumac. Rhus copallina. 

Elders. Native species are excellent. 

Exochorda, with profuse white bloom in spring. 

Flowering Almond. 

Flowering Crabs. 

Flowering Currants. 

Forsythias or Golden Bells. 

Fringe Tree or Chionanthus. 

Hawthorns. 

Hydrangeas. 

Indian Currant. Symphoricarpos vulgaris. 

Japanese Quince. 

Kerria or Corchorus. 

Lilacs. 

Mock Orange or Philadelphus. 

New Jersey Tea or Ceanothus. 

Osiers or Dogwoods. 

Privet. 

Rose Acacia. 

Roses. 

Smoke Tree. 

Snowballs. The Japanese is preferable. 

Snowberry. Symphoricarpos racemosus. 

Spireas of many kinds. 

Viburnums of many kinds. 

Weigelas. 

White Alder. Clethra alnifolia. 

Witch Hazel. Blooms on the eve of winter. 

Xanthoceras sorbifolia. 



344 APPENDIX F 

APPENDIX E 

No doubt teachers will be interested in the following 
brief outline of school garden work from the report of the 
committee on Industrial Education in Schools for Rural 
Communities. It is intended for the one-room school : — 

The purposes of school garden work may be thrown into three 
general divisions: (i) to make garden and acquire skill with tools 
(handicraft); (2) to learn how plants grow and behave under culti- 
vation; (3) to discover what transpired in the garden. 

1. Handicraft. — First year: Simplest garden operations, as 
raking, sowing seeds, watering, shading, etc. Subsequent years: 
The garden work will naturally continue itself, and new problems 
will come into the horizon of the pupil as soon as he is ready for 
them. Such questions as staking, tying, thinning, transplanting, 
planting a bush or tree, distinguishing weeds, kinds of soil, and 
fertilizing will come up as the work proceeds. In all years window 
gardens and plant boxes may be a regular part of the school garden 
work. 

2. How Plants Grow. — Second year: Germination; seed leaves. 
Third year: Seed testing; layers; bulbs. Fourth year: Identifi- 
cation of kinds of seeds ; cuttings. Fifth year: How different kinds 
of plants grow and behave ; grafting ; pruning. 

3. Record. — Third and subsequent years: A garden record may 
be begun, at first probably as a blackboard exercise. Each garden 
worker in fourth year should have a note-book. 

APPENDIX F 

Jere M. Pound, State School Commissioner of Georgia, 
on the Future of Agricultural Education in his State. — 
Jere M. Pound, State School Commissioner of Georgia, 



APPENDIX F 345 

looks for great things from the inauguration of the new 
thoroughgoing system of agricultural education in his 
state. In a recent (1907) report to the General Assembly 
touching the new agricultural high schools, he said in 
part: — 

The future of these schools and their fate depends upon your 
wisdom. We have classical schools, technological schools, normal 
schools, — schools of medicine, schools of law, schools of science; 
but these constitute the only recognition we have ever given in. an 
educational way to a business in which three fourths or four fifths 
of our children will engage and upon which we all, without excep- 
tion, must depend. Of course, ignorant men may farm; they may 
support themselves in this way; they may even appear to make 
money. But they can do these things only at the expense of the soil. 
We are now easily in sight of a period when the prevention of soil 
erosion and waste will become a most vital problem, which shall 
appeal for solution to every intelligent citizen. Already, as is 
shown by the census just completed, many school districts of 
counties in middle Georgia are losing large percentages of their 
population, for reasons which we need not go far to find. 
Thoughtless and wasteful methods of cultivation have worn out 
much of the soil of what was once the choicest part of the state 
and have left the red hills sterile and gashed and scarred. There 
is yet fresh land elsewhere. Hence the exodus. But ignorance 
will soon waste and exhaust that likewise. Then we shall be face 
to face with the greatest problem that our people must face — 
the problem of replenishing by artificial means a worn-out land 
whose forests have vanished in a generation or two through heed- 
less, wasteful, wanton, almost criminal destruction. To dwell upon 
these things is not pessimism. It is simple prudence. Our own 
children now in school will live through harder and more artificial 
conditions than we shall witness. It is, therefore, our bounden 



346 APPENDIX G 

and manifest duty to prepare them for their future, and particularly 
to prepare that portion of them who through manual toil and labor 
must make the food supplies for all the rest, so that they may per- 
form their task with a minimum of discomfort and a maximum of 
profit and pleasure. ... To such schools [the new high schools] 
I look for the redemption in great part of our common schools from 
their aimless wanderings toward unseen ends. Indeed, I regard 
the effort to inaugurate a thorough system of agricultural education 
as the kindest and best thing that has been done for the common 
schools since their inception. I sincerely trust, therefore, that you 
may find some way to support these institutions liberally, that they 
may help in the development of the common schools and in the ed- 
ucation of our great rural population. 

APPENDIX G 

The Committee on Industrial Education in Schools for 
Rural Communities recommended the following general 
plan for years six, seven, and eight : — 

FIRST HALF YEAR : THE AFFAIRS OF AGRICULTURE 

The place that the farm occupies as part of the community life. 
What the farmer's business is; what he does: what he sells; how he 
spends his year. 

What is the nature or kind of agriculture of the particular region. 

What outside help the farmer has: good roads; telephones, 
rural free delivery; experiment stations, colleges; markets. Gather 
rough statistics from the farmers of the neighborhood. Write up the 
farms of the district as to history, size of buildings, etc. 

SECOND HALF YEAR: THE SOIL 
Here may be introduced many experiments as to the physical 
conditions and texture of the soil. Soils of the neighborhood must 
be gathered and classified. 



APPENDIX H 347 

Let the pupil classify the soils on his own farm and make a chart 
as to the soil distribution. 

General ways in which the soil is improved as to plowing, tilling, 
rolling, cover-cropping, fertilizing, and the like. 

SECOND YEAR: FARMING SCHEMES AND CROPS 

The general layout of the farm : rotation schemes and mapping. 
Farm crops: the crops or their products themselves to be studied, 
sometimes in the schoolroom. Ears of corn, for example, may be 
studied and "judged" as a part of the school exercises. The same 
may be done with potatoes, grains, and fruits. 

The crops to be studied as they are grown in the community ; 
let each child report on the crops and the cropping schemes of his 
own farm. 

THIRD YEAR: ANIMALS 

What animals are a part of the farm enterprise, and why. 

What relation these animals bear to rotation of crops or other 
farming schemes. Relation they bear to the fertility of the land. 
Relative importance of different kinds of animals, and why they are 
raised. 

Some general studies of the different breeds of animals and also 
"points" of specific animals and something of the judging of animals. 
Some observations may be made on feeding and the like. 

A good text-book treating in a simple way the soil and the plant 
life of the farm may be used with profit to supplement the actual 
study of the things themselves. 

Supplementary reading matter, treating country-life subjects, 
may well be used in connection with this work. 

APPENDIX H 

The following are some of the problems made use of by 
Mr. Lyon. As they are full of suggestions to the teacher, 
they are herewith repeated : — 



348 APPENDIX H 

Air: 

Test for moisture. 

Test for carbonic acid gas (limewater, etc.). 
Tests for ammonia (in schoolroom and in cow stables). 
Seeds: 

Germination. (Find per cent, etc.) 
Manner of growth (monocotyledons, dicotyledons). 
Plants: 

Water taken from soil. (Use scales.) 
Transpiration. (Collect H 2 0.) 
Examination of nodules on leguminous plants. 
Effect of nodules on luxuriance of growth. 
Soils: 

Search for water-table — different places and times. 

Test with litmus paper. 

Effect of lime or ashes on clay soil. 

Effect of lime on clear and on muddy water. 

Correct acidity with lime or ashes. (Result observed in growth 

of clover.) 
Capillarity under different conditions. 
Milk: 

Babcock test. 
Drill in making measurements, reading bottles, computations. 
Test acid with acidometer. 
Acid test. 

Correct measurements, computations of acid. 
Milk at different ages. 

Under different conditions of cleanliness and temperature. 
Bottle and cork tight; keep warm; observe odor; use different 
samples to compare. 
Water: 

Test for organic matter. 

Bottle with a little sugar; keep warm; observe color, etc. 
Use potassium permanganate. 



APPENDIX I 349 

Osmosis: 

Using egg. 
Using bladder. 
Fungicides: 

Formaldehyde for oats smut. 
Hot-water oats smut. 

Bordeaux for potato blight. (Use ferrocyanide test.) 
Computations in each case. 
Chemical Action: 

Caustic soda solution plus muriatic acid. 
Evaporate; find the salt. 

(Can teach chemical formula of this even at 10 or 12 years.) 
Commercial Fertilizers: 

Handling and mixing — nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, and 
dissolved rock. (Computations.) 
Cows: 

Dairy type. (Examine form, milk veins, hide, etc.) 
Beef type. 
Weather Map: 

Receive daily maps and determine location of storm center. 
Physical Experiments of various kinds taken from books on physics. 

Make suction pump with lamp chimney, etc. 
Garden: 

A grass plot has been substituted for the school garden, where 
farm grasses, fertilizers, and seedlings may be studied. 

APPENDIX I 
ART WORK 

In almost all rural localities the following lines of work may be 
introduced with slight tool equipment: — 

Primary : 

Clay molding, with local clay. 

Paper cutting, design, representation, free hand. 



35° 



APPENDIX I 



Brush drawing, objective and subjective. 
Charcoal and chalk painting. 
Color study. 
Design cutting. 
Paper picture work. 
Grammar Grades : 

Subjective expression with geometric motif. 

Clay molding, objective, subjective, and illustrative. 

Brush drawing, line drawing. 

Free-hand drawing. 

Sketching. 

Charcoal tone study, picture making. 

Pencil painting. 

Design. 

MECHANISM 

Primary : 

Simple wood construction, with prepared stock and nails, local 

material. 
Paper cutting, folding, pasting. 
Paper construction. 
Pasteboard construction. 
Spool knitting, braiding, weaving with twine and string that the 

children have collected. 
Textile art work, primary. 
Constructional needlework, primary, with material that is 

furnished by the child. 
Grammar Grades: 

Three-sixteenth stock whittling. 

Fret sawing. 

Clay carving, wirework, grass, husk, straw, willow, or other 

fiber basketry. Design. 
Knife carving. 
Heavy whittling. 
Bench Sloyd. 



APPENDIX J 351 

Domestic art, ornamental and constructional. 

Gardening, primary agriculture. Perhaps at first at home of 

the child, on small plot. 
Cooking, primary domestic science. 
The above is designated to be correlative on all possible subjects 
of the schools. 

It is not the design that all the course work mentioned be given 
at one time. The work is selected by the district teacher with ref- 
erence to possibilities. 

As many phases of work as possible should be given the child 
during the elementary school period, for by this means the hand 
receives a broader, more sensitive training. 

APPENDIX J 

SIMPLE RULES BY WHICH TO RECOGNIZE SYMP- 
TOMS OF SOME COMMON DISEASES 

Diphtheria. — It is an easy matter to ascertain whether or not the 
throat is inflamed, because a child suffering from this cause will 
generally complain that the throat is sore. While this sign may 
sometimes fail, yet it is generally true that a child with a sore throat, 
accompanied by a foul breath, is a possible victim of diphtheria, if 
the throat shows patches on the tonsils or in the back of the mouth. 
Diphtheria, however, may exist without this condition, and it is, 
therefore, necessary, in case of suspected sore throat, especially if 
the disease has appeared elsewhere in the community, to isolate 
the case until a physician has passed upon it. The diphtheric sore 
throat is generally inflamed to a dark red. 

Scarlet Fever. — The early manifestations of scarlet fever are 
usually associated with throat symptoms, headache, and fever. 
The throat is bright red. The tongue is mostly clean and of a 
strawberry hue, although this symptom does not always appear in 
the early stages. One of the earliest manifestations is the flushing of 
the face and the appearance of red spots on the neck, arms, and body. 



352 APPENDIX J 

When a child who has suffered from the disease returns to school, 
it should not be admitted if its skin is still scaling, as it is a generally 
recognized fact that the scales carry disease. 

Measles. — This is generally preceded by fever, followed by the 
appearance of a dark red rash and by sore throat and eyes. The 
symptoms are not usually so pronounced as in scarlet fever, but 
the case is, as a rule, to be diagnosed by the rash. 

Tonsilitis. — This disease is generally accompanied by lassitude, 
high fever, and enlarged tonsils. While children suffering from 
tonsilitis often remain in school during the entire progress of the 
disease, yet its spread in a school can often be prevented by immediate 
detection and isolation. 

Other common and important contagious diseases are: whoop- 
ing cough, mumps, smallpox, itch. 

Mumps may generally be recognized by a swelling above the 
angle of the jaw and below the lower point of the ear, which, upon 
pressure, is extremely painful. The sufferer should be sent home 
at once. 

Whooping Cough. — Patients should be at once isolated from the 
school, and, as in other cases of contagious disease,the other members 
of the family not affected by it should be kept at home as long as it 
exists. The disease manifests itself in a series of short, spasmodic 
coughs, followed by a long inhalation and a whoop. 

Smallpox is hard to recognize in its early stages, but may generally 
be detected by patches on the palms of the hands and soles of the 
feet. It also invades the mouth and throat. Vaccination should 
always be insisted upon for schools in communities visited by small- 
pox. 

Itch can ordinarily be detected by the teacher. It occurs on the 
arms and hands, especially between the fingers, and the excessive 
itching causes the child affected to scratch the sores, and so keep 
them open. The child should be sent from the school, and should 
be attended by a physician until well. In no case should articles 
handled by the patient be used by the other members of the family. 



INDEX 



Agriculture, courses in, in state normal 
schools, 85-86; training teachers in 
elementary, 196-197; the dominant 
interest in the rural community, 205- 
206; objections to educational trend 
toward, 206; elementary, in Euro- 
pean schools, 206-210; spread of 
study of, in Canada and the United 
States, 210-212; interest of agricul- 
tural colleges in study of, in schools, 
212-213; what may be accomplished 
in study of, in one-room school, 214- 
217; books and other literature on, 
219, 234-235. See School gardens. 

Agricultural Association, Nebraska 
Boys', 220-231. 

Agricultural education, future of, in 
Georgia, as reported by Jere M. 
Pound, 344-346. 

Arbor Day, an appropriate celebration 
of, 174-177- 

Architecture of school buildings, 121- 
133- 

Arkansas, supervision of schools in, 58. 

Art, specimens of, in schoolrooms, 141- 
145; combination of, with manual 
training, 243-245; suggested lines 
of work in, for rural localities, 349- 
35i- 

Art programmes for schools, 148-151. 

Aswell, James B., quoted, 77-78; con- 
solidation of Louisiana schools under, 
3i3- 

Augusta, Ga., successful operation of 
county system of school organization 
in, 31-32. 

Australia, school gardens in, 184; 
progress in agricultural studies in, 
210; consolidation of schools in, 307. 



Austria, school gardens in, 181; schools 
for study of agriculture in, 209. 



B 



Backward children in schools, 283-284; 
special schools for, 286. 

Bailey, L. H., quoted on training for 
teachers in agriculture, 217. 

Balcomb, E. E., paper by, quoted, 84; 
quoted on study of agriculture in 
schools, 212-213. 

Barnard, Henry, first teachers' institute 
held by, 76. 

Basements of schoolhouses, 124-125. 

Basket suppers as a means of procur- 
ing funds, 148-15 1. 

Belgium, horticulture study compul- 
sory in, 183; courses in agriculture 
in schools of, 207-208; manual 
training in, 238. 

Birds and bird houses on school 
premises, 1 70-171. 

Bishop, E. C, paper by, quoted, 218- 
219; work of, in Nebraska, 229; on 
the object of organizations of boys 
and girls in Nebraska, 231-232. 

Blackboards, location and material of, 
120-130. 

Board of education, function of the, 
34 _ 35; organization and work of, 
dependent on size of geographical 
unit, 35-36; difficulty in procuring 
good members for, 36-37; possibili- 
ties in the way of work to be accom- 
plished by, 37-38; origins and his- 
tory of the, 51-52. 

Bohemia, school gardens in, 182-183. 

Books, on agriculture, 219; on manual 
training, 252-253; list of, for the 
children's library, 277-281; disin- 
fection of school books, 291 ; on con- 



2A 



353 



354 



INDEX 



solidated schools, 332-333. See 

Libraries. 
Boston school nurses, 284-285. 
Bowesville, Ont., school gardens, 198- 

199. 
Burns Consolidated School, Marion 

County, Kansas, 321-323. 



California, county system of school 
organization in, 31. 

Calisthenics in European schools, 300. 

Canada, school gardens in, 184, 190, 192- 
193; training of teachers in school 
gardening in, 196; elementary agri- 
cultural studies in, 210; consolida- 
tion of schools in, 307. 

Cary, C. P., quoted on Wisconsin 
Training School, 87; quoted on con- 
solidation of schools, 311. 

Chalk rails for blackboards, 130. 

Cities, movement of population to, 
4-5; a menace to country life, 6-7; 
proper equation of country and, 7-8; 
school supervision in, vs. rural super- 
vision, 50-51; school gardening in, 
190-191; importance of manual 
training to children in, 205. 

Cloak rooms in schoolhouses, 123. 

Clubs, agricultural, 220-221; boys' 
and girls' industrial, 221-222; boys' 
corn clubs, 224-229; boys' and girls' 
associations in Nebraska, 229-232; 
books on industrial, 234-235. 

Colonial support of public schools, 41- 
42. 

Colorado, school gardens and study of 
agriculture in, 216. 

Commission on rural life, 10. 

Community system of school organiza- 
tion, 33-34- 

Connecticut, provisions of School 
Supervision Act of 1903 in, 55-56; 
consolidation of schools in, 308-309. 

Consolidation of schools, remedy for 
existing ills in rural communities 
found in, 22-23; mistake of waiting 
for, for rural school improvement, 
247-248; aim of, 303-305; early 
history of, 306-307; progress in, 



307; in Massachusetts, 308; else- 
where in New England, 308-309; 
in the Middle West, 309-312; in the 
South, 312-313; in Utah, Wyoming, 
and Oregon, 314; system of partial, 
315-318; complete, 318; village 
type of, 320; illustrated by the 
Burns Consolidated School, Kansas, 
321-323; the purely rural type of, 
323-324; the John Swaney Con- 
solidated School an example of purely 
rural type, 324-329; advantages and 
objections, 330-331; literature on, 
332-333- 

Corbett, L. C, The School Garden by, 
quoted, 166-167. 

Corn clubs, origin of, 221-222; general 
plan of boys', 224-229; in Nebraska, 
229-232. 

Cotton, Fasset A., State Superintend- 
ent, report by, quoted, 224-225. 

County normal training classes in 
Michigan, 88. 

County superintendents, 53. 

County supervision of schools. See 
Supervision. 

County system of school organization, 
30-32; satisfaction given by, after 
certain necessary reforms, 32-33; 
matter of taxation under, 47-48. 

County training schools in Wisconsin, 

85-87. 

Cousins, Superintendent R. B., 33. 

Cowley, R. H., quoted, 198-199, 200- 
201. 

Crosby, Dick J., on influence of indus- 
trial clubs on farming, 223. 



D 



Davison, Alvin, article by, quoted, 292- 

293- 

Defectives in public schools, 283-284; 
special provision for, 286. 

Denman, J. S., early teachers' meeting 
held by, 76. 

Denmark, elementary agriculture in 
schools of, 208-209. 

Desks, location and kind of, in school- 
rooms, 138-139; teachers', 139. 

Dexter, Professor, quoted, 26-27. 



INDEX 



355 



Diseases, marked ignorance of, in rural 
communities, 13; recognition of, by 
teachers, 288; necessity of study of, 
289; simple rules by which to recog- 
nize symptoms of common, 35^352. 

Disinfection of school books and para- 
phernalia, 291. 

District superintendents, 53. 

District system. See School district 
unit of organization. 

Domestic Science Association, Ne- 
braska Girls', 229-231. 

Drinking cups, dangers of, 290, 291-293. 

Dublin, N. H., school statistics of, 45- 
46. 

E 

Eastmond, Albert H., quoted on co- 
ordination of art and manual train- 
ing, 243-245. 

Eliot, Charles W., quoted, 254. 

Ellsworth, N. H., school statistics of, 
45-46. 

England, nature study and school 
gardening in, 184; backwardness of, 
in introduction of agricultural studies 
in schools, 209; manual training in, 
238. 

Europe, conditions surrounding 
teachers in, as compared with 
America, 93-96; tenure of office of 
teachers in, 115; school gardens in, 
180-185; elementary agriculture in 
schools of, 206-210; manual training 
in, 236-238; gymnastics in rural 
schools of, 298-300. 

Evans, Lawton B., on the importance 
of aesthetic environment, 137. 

Excursions, educational, 224, 228. 

Expenditure on schools in United 
States, per capita, 39-41. 



Farming, success in, attributable in 

many cases to school gardens, 185- 

186. 
Feminization of the schools, 107-109. 
Fitch, Laura, a superintendent who is 

an advocate of elementary agriculture 

for schools, 221. 



Floor space in schoolhouses, i2r-i23. 
Florida, consolidated schools in, 313. 
Flowers about schools, 169-170. 
Fortner, Ord, success of, in teaching 

manual training in one-room school, 

248-249. 
France, school gardens in, 1 81-182; 

elementary agriculture in schools of, 

207; manual training in, 238. 
Furniture of schoolrooms, 138-139. 



Gardens. See School gardens. 

Georgia, courses in agriculture in 
normal schools of, 83; consolidation 
of schools in, 313; future of agri- 
cultural education in, 344-346. 

Germany, school gardens in, 1 80-1 81; 
elementary agriculture in schools of, 
209; manual training in, 238; at- 
tention paid to physical inspection 
in, 286. 

Graham, A. B., quoted on traveling 
libraries in Ohio, 272-273. 

Grounds of schoolhouses, 133, 136- 
*37> !63 ff.; literature on decora- 
tion of, 174, 177-178. 

Gymnastics, function of, in schools, 
295, 296-298; in rural schools, 298- 
300. 

H 

Hall, G. Stanley, quoted on manual 

training, 240. 
Halls in schoolhouses, 123-124. 
Harvest Home Social suggested for 

procuring funds, 150-15 1. 
Harvey, L. D., quoted, 242. 
Health of pupils, teachers' responsi- 
bility for, 287-288. See Physical 

education. 
Heating of schoolhouses, 125-127, 337- 

338. 
Hedges for inclosing school grounds, 

167-168. 
Hemenway, H. D., How to make School 

Gardens by, 198. 
High-school training classes, 88-90. 
Hodge, Dr. Clifton F., Nature Study 

and Life by, quoted, 156, 172. 



35 6 



INDEX 



Holland, study of agriculture in schools 
of, 208; manual training in, 238. 

Home, Professor, on the true function 
of play, 296. 

Hygiene in schools, 282 ff. 



lies, George, on school gardens in 

Canada, 190. 
Illinois, consolidation of schools in, 

Incomes of teachers, and adjustment 
of, to expenses, 92-103. 

Indiana, minimum salary law in, 113; 
traveling libraries in, 275-276; con- 
solidation of schools in, 310. 

Industrial clubs for boys and girls, 221- 
222; selected list of books dealing 
with, 234-235. 

Industrial education, N.E.A. commit- 
tee on, in rural communities, 245- 
246; plan of studies for schools in 
rural communities, 346-347. 

Iowa, school libraries in, 263-264; con- 
solidated schools in, 311. 

Jacket-ventilating stoves, 126-127. 
Jamaica, school gardens in, 184. 
Japan, schools in, for teaching of agri- 
culture, 209; enforcement of laws 

of hygiene in army of, 287. 
Jewell, J. R., Agricultural Education by;* 

quoted, 189-190, 191, 192, 210. 
John Swaney Consolidated School, the, 

324-327; high school work in the, 

327-329. 
Jones, Frank O., on Connecticut and 

Massachusetts systems of school 

supervision, 56-57. 
Joyner, J. Y., on consolidation of 

schools in North Carolina, 312-313. 



K 



Kansas, superintendents in, 61, 65-66; 
high-school training classes in, 90; 
matter of school libraries in, 263; 
consolidated schools in, 312. 



Kelley, Patrick H., State Superin- 
tendent, quoted, 88. 

Kern, O. J., State Superintendent, 
quoted on rural school mainte- 
nance, 106; on waste of money by 
school officers, 140; on value of 
school gardening in city school 
system, 188-189; inauguration of 
Twentieth-century Forward Library 
Movement by, 268-269; report by, 
on the John Swaney Consolidated 
School, 324-327. 

Kirkpatrick, Fairfax, report by, on 
the Wea Consolidated School, 318- 
320. 

Kirksville, Mo., State Normal rural 
model school, 81, 82. 

Krohn, William O., summary by, of 
methods of spreading diseases, 290- 
291. 

L 

Land grants in aid of schools, 42-43. 

Lavatories in schoolhouses, 130-131. 

Laws for construction of sanitary 
schoolhouses, 1 18-120. 

Libraries, in schoolhouses, 123; fur- 
nishings of, 139; advantages of, in 
rural communities, 254-257, 261; 
early history of school, 257-258; 
traveling, 260, 271-276; condi- 
tional laws concerning, in some 
states, 265-266. 

Library Day in West Virginia, 267-268. 

Lighting of schoolrooms, 128-129. 

Literature, on school-ground decora- 
tion, 174; on agriculture, 219; on 
elementary agriculture and indus- 
trial clubs, 234-235; on manual 
training, 252-253; list of books for 
the children's library, 277-281; on 
consolidated schools, 232-233. 

Louisiana, consolidated schools in, 313. 

Lyon, H. H., success of, in interesting 
pupils in agricultural studies, 217. 

M 

Macomb, 111., State Normal model 

rural school, 82, 83. 
Maine, union district supervision in, 57; 



INDEX 



357 



School Improvement League of, 145- 
146; consolidation of schools in, 309. 

Mann, Horace, quoted, 26; teachers' 
institutes popularized by, in Massa- 
chusetts, 76. 

Manual training, vital interest of, for 
city children, 205; defined, 236; 
early history of, in Europe and 
America, 36-238; growth of ideas 
concerning, 239-240; philosophy of, 
240-241; aims of, in rural commu- 
nities, 241-243; combination of art 
and, 243-245; extract from N.E.A. 
report on, 245-246; the one-room 
school and, 246-252; advice on how 
to begin, 250-251; literature on, 252- 
253; importance of, as a factor in 
physical education, 295. 

Martin, O. B., on school libraries in 
South Carolina, 266. 

Maryland, minimum salary law in, 113; 
conditional library laws in, 265-266. 

Massachusetts, district unit of school 
organization in, 26; abolition of 
district unit in (1882), 27; township 
and district supervision of schools in, 
53~55! consolidation of schools in, 
306-307, 308. 

Massachusetts Supervision Law of 1888, 

53-54- 

Michigan, county normal training 
classes in, 88; consolidation of 
schools in, 311. 

Miller, Susie, letter by, on agricultural 
study, 217-218. 

Miller, Thomas C, quoted on Library 
Day in West Virginia, 267-268. 

Minnesota, assistant county superin- 
tendents advocated in, 61; position 
of superintendent in, 64; high school 
training classes in, 90; annual in- 
dustrial contest for boys and girls in, 
232-233; school libraries in, 264; 
consolidated schools in, 311-312. 

Missouri, county system of school 
organization in, 31; school libraries 
in, 264. 

Model rural schools, 80-83. 

Model school buildings, 120-133. 

Miinsterberg, Hugo, on influence of 
women teachers on male youth, 109. 



N 



Nature study in schools, 154 ff.; 
economic, aesthetic, social and ethi- 
cal, religious, and educational value 
of, to the rural child, 156-161; syl- 
labus of, 161-162; list of books 
dealing with, 177-178; outline of 
course in, 338-342. See School 
gardens. 

Nebraska, teaching of agriculture in 
normal schools of, 83-84; high 
school training classes in, 90; boys' 
and girls' associations in, 229-232; 
school library law in, 263; traveling 
libraries in, 276. 

Nebraska Junior Normal Schools, 77. 

Nevada, school supervision by district 
attorneys in, 58. 

New Hampshire, change from dis- 
trict to township system of school 
organization in, 27; union district 
supervision in, 57; consolidation of 
schools in, 309. 

New Jersey, superintendents in, 61; 
election of county superintendents in, 
62. 

New York City, statistics of defective 
school children in, 283-284. 

New York State, training classes in 
high schools of, 88-90; school libra- 
ries in, 265; traveling libraries in, 
274. 

Normal schools. See State normal 
schools. 

Normal training classes in Michigan, 
88. 

North Carolina, selection of county 
superintendents in, 63; operation of 
conditional library laws in, 265-266. 

North Dakota, superintendents' as- 
sistants in, 61; minimum salary law 
in, 113; consolidated schools in, 312. 

Nurses for schools in Boston, 284-286. 







Ohio, union district school supervision 
in, 57; minimum salary law in, 113; 
traveling libraries in, 272-273; con- 
solidation of schools in, 310. 



358 



INDEX 



Oregon, county system of school 

organization in, 31. 
Outhouses for rural school buildings, 

131-132, 163. 



Page, Walter H., commissioner on 

rural life, quoted, n-12. 
Parker, Francis W., on rational courses 

of work in rural schools, 14. 
Pencils, danger in promiscuous use of, 

2Q1. 

Pennsylvania, election of county super- 
intendents in, 63; minimum salary 
law in, 113. 

Permanent school funds, creation of, 
42-43; inadequacy of, 43-45; table 
of statistics of, 335-336. 

Physical education in schools, 282 ff.; 
relation of general intelligence to, 
286-287; manifested in schools 
through the agencies of manual 
training, play, gymnastics, and ath- 
letics, 294-295. 

Pictures, choice of, for schools, 141-143; 
list of suitable, 144-145. 

Plainfield, N.J., Groszman School for 
atypical children at, 286. 

Planning and platting school grounds, 
164. 

Planting of trees and shrubs in school 
grounds, 165 ff.; Arbor Day an 
appropriate time for, 174-177. 

Plaster casts in schoolrooms, 143-145. 

Play, function of, in school work, 295- 
296. 

Playgrounds for schools, 163, 165; 
equipment of, for gymnastic train- 
ing, 299. 

Politics and school superintendents, 
61-68. 

Pound, Jere M., State School Commis- 
sioner, on future of agricultural edu- 
cation in Georgia, 344-346. 

Providence, Fresh Air School at, 286. 



R 



Race, S. J., on rural school heating and 
ventilation, 337-338. 



Reading circles, benefits from rightly 
managed, 78-79, 269-270. 

Reading courses, ever widening rdle 
played by, in systematic education, 
254- 

Rest rooms for teachers, 123. 

Rhode Island, union district school 
supervision in, 57; consolidation of 
schools in, 309. 

Robertson, J. W., quoted on consoli- 
dation of schools, 305. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, Congressional 
message on needs of American 
country life, xviii; cited, 8; com- 
mission on rural life appointed by, 10; 
letter to American school children on 
Arbor Day, 176-177. 

Rural schools, present conditions in, 
1-4; problem of, economic and so- 
ciological as well as educational, 9-10; 
primary duty of, to educate country 
boys and girls to a love and appre- 
ciation of country things, 13-14; the 
ideal twentieth-century, 14-15; ne- 
cessity of better organization and 
administration, 16-20, 24 ff.; pro- 
vision of funds for maintenance of, 
39-49; matter of supervision of, 
50-68; the teaching problem, 69-91; 
maintenance of, by ncreased taxa- 
tion, 106; buildings and equipment, 
116-133; indoor furnishing of, 134- 
153; nature study in, 154-162; 
grounds of, 163-177; benefits of 
school gardens for, 191-195; study 
of elementary agriculture in, 205 ff.; 
industrial clubs in, 221-233; manual 
training in, 236-251; libraries in, 
258-269 (see Libraries); teachers in, 
their own medical inspectors, 293- 
294; gymnastics in, 298-300; con- 
solidation of, 302-332. 

Rural teachers. See Teachers of rural 
schools. 

Russia, school gardens in, 182; manual 
training in, 238. 



St. Louis, first manual training school 
at, 238. 



INDEX 



359 



Salaries of teachers, 92 ff.; of European 
and American teachers contrasted, 
93~96; law of regulation of, 106-107; 
effect of prevailing low average, to 
drive men to other callings, 107-108; 
enactment of minimum salary laws 
urged, 113. 

Sanitary appliances for schoolhouses, 
130 ff. 

School board. See Board of education. 

School buildings, 116 ff.; choice of 
site, 120, 162-163; indoor arrange- 
ments, 121-125; heating and ven- 
tilation, 125-128, 337-338; light- 
ing, blackboards, and sanitary ap- 
pliances, 128-133; exterior of, 133, 
162-167; indoor furnishings and 
out in, 138 ff. 

School district, unit of organization, 
25; objections to, 26-27; great 
spread of, at an early date, 27; re- 
spects in which township system is 
superior to, 29-30; question of tax- 
ation under, 47-48. 

School funds. See Permanent school 
funds. 

School gardens, origins of, 179-180; 
in European countries, 180-185; 
advantages of, shown by immigrants 
from Europe, 185-186; history of, 
in United States, 186-188; prac- 
tical value of, in city schools, 188- 
190; advantages of, for rural schools, 
191-195; steps preparatory to mak- 
ing, 197-201; arrangement of, 201- 
203; selected list of books on, 203- 
204; outline of work from report of 
committee on Industrial Education 
in Schools for Rural Communities, 
344- 

School grounds, 133, 136-137, 163 ff.; 
books dealing with, 174, 177-178. 

School Improvement League of Maine, 
145-146. 

School libraries and public libraries, 
258-261. 

Sculpture, specimens of, in school- 
rooms, 143-145. 

Seeley, Dr. Leir, quoted, 73. 

Sewerage system for rural schools, 132- 
133- 



Shaeffer, State Superintendent in Penn- 
sylvania, quoted, 113. 

Shafer, Harry M., quoted, 287. 

Shaw, Dr., School Hygiene by, quoted, 
127-128. 

Shrubbery for school grounds, 16^, 
168-169, 342-343- 

Site of schoolhouses, 120, 162-163. 

Sloyd schools, origin of, in Sweden, 
237- 

Social recognition of teachers, 111-112. 

South Carolina, operation of condi- 
tional library laws in, 265-266; con- 
solidated schools in, 313. 

Starr, C. C, report by, on Burns con- 
solidated district, 322-323. 

State laws for construction of sanitary 
schoolhouses, 1 18-120. 

State normal schools, 79; readiness of, 
to adapt themselves to new condi- 
tions, 80; rural model schools in, 80- 
83; agriculture in, 83-85. 

Stoves, jacket ventilating, 126-127. 

Summer schools, advantage of, to 
rural school teachers, 75-76; Ne- 
braska Junior Normal Schools, 77. 

Superintendent, function of board of 
education and work of the, 35; ori- 
gin of the, 51-52; county, parish, 
and union district or township, 52- 
53; conditions prevailing under 
county system, 58-60; necessity of 
removing from party politics, 61-62; 
election and compensation of, in 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
62-63; appointment of, in North 
Carolina, 63; plan of election in 
Minnesota, 64; Kansas plan, 65-66; 
academic and professional qualifica- 
tions essential for, 66-67; oppor- 
tunity of, for promoting aesthetic 
side of schools, 151-153; campaign 
of education in improvement of 
school grounds to be conducted by, 

173-174- 
Supervision, of rural schools, 50; city 
vs. rural, 50-51; history of, 51-52; 
the unit of, 52-53; Massachusetts 
and Connecticut acts pertaining to, 
53-57; success of union district sys- 
tem in New England and Ohio, 53- 



3 6 ° 



INDEX 



57; progress under county system, 
57-58; in Arkansas and Nevada, 58; 
conditions under county system, 58- 
60; politics in, 61-62; general con- 
dition of, for rural schools, 67-68. 

Sweden, school gardens in, 181; de- 
velopment of systematic manual 
training (Sloyd schools) in, 237. 

Switzerland, school gardens in, 182; 
schools in, for study of agriculture, 
209; manual training in, 238. 

Syllabus of nature study prepared by 
committee of N.E.A., 161-162. 



Taxation, chief support of schools 
found in, 44-45; the state the log- 
ical taxing unit, 45-46; state sys- 
tem of, for schools not increasing, 
46-47 ; table showing state and local, 
on percentage basis, 47; county and 
township, 47-48; decline of dis- 
trict, 48; rational scaling up of, and 
increase in, needed, 48-49; low rural 
rate of, 105. 

Teachers of rural schools; 699 ff.; 
"born" and "made," 70-71; natural 
qualifications necessary, 71-72; aca- 
demic training, 72-73; professional 
training, 73; must come prepared 
to make the school an expression of 
life on the farm, 74-75; aids to, in 
summer schools, teachers' institutes, 
teachers' meetings, etc., 75; instruc- 
tion in agriculture for, 83-84; Wis- 
consin county training schools for, 
85-87; training classes for, in 
Michigan and in New York high 
schools, 88-90; salaries of, 92 ff.; 
law of salary regulation as applied to, 
106-107; statistics of men and of 
women, 108; long tenure of office 
advocated for, 114-115; opening for 
individual efforts in school decora- 
tions and improvement of aesthetic 
environment, 1 46-151; training of, 
in elementary agriculture, 196-197; 
training of, in library economy, 276- 
277; responsibility of, for pupils' 
physical and mental health, 287- 



288; rural teachers their own medical 
inspectors, 293-294. 

Teachers' institutes, 76. 

Teachers' journals, benefits from, 78. 

Teachers' meetings, necessity of teach- 
ers' attendance at, 78. 

Tenure of office of teachers, 114-115. 

Terre Haute, Ind., State Normal 
model rural school, 82, 83. 

Texas, county system of school or- 
ganization in, 31; community sys- 
tem of school organization in, 33-34. 

Toads and toad aquaria on school 
grounds, 171-173. 

Toilet rooms in schoolhouses, 130-13 1. 

Township superintendents, 53. 

Township system of school organiza- 
tion, 27-29; to be distinguished 
from township system of local gov- 
ernment, 28; respects in which su- 
perior to district system, 29-30; 
taxation under the, 47-48. 

Training classes, county normal, in 
Michigan, 88; in New York high 
schools, 88-90; in Nebraska, Kan- 
sas, Minnesota, Vermont, and other 
states, 90. 

Training schools in Wisconsin, 85-87. 

Traveling libraries, 260, 271-276. 

Trees in school grounds, 167. 

Twentieth-century Forward Library 
Movement, 268-269. / 



U 

Union district supervision of schools, 
in Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
53~57; in other states, 57. 

Units of school organization, 25-34. 

Utah, county system of school organiza- 
tion in, 31. 



V 

Vacation schools. See Summer schools, 
Teachers' institutes, and Teachers' 
meetings. 

Ventilation of schoolhouses, 125-128, 
337-338. 

Vermont, union district school super- 



INDEX 



361 



vision in, 57; high school training 

classes in, 90; consolidation of 

schools in, 309. 
Victoria, N.S.W., nature study and 

teaching of agriculture in, 210. 
Village type of consolidated school, 320. 
Vines, use of, on school premises, 169. 
Virginia, county system of school 

organization in, 31; consolidated 

schools in, 312. 



W 

Walls of schoolrooms, 138. 

Waste in the small school, 305. 

Wea Consolidated School, the, 318-320. 

West Virginia, minimum salary scale 
in, 113-114; lack of library provi- 
sions in, 266-267; observance of 
Library Day in, 267-268. 

Williams, Dr. Linsly R., on defectives 



and low standards of school work, 
284. 

Wisconsin, superintendents in, 61; 
county training schools in, 85-87; 
school libraries in, 263-264; con- 
solidation of schools in, 311. 

Wolford, Lulu, successful teacher of 
elementary agriculture, 219; quoted 
on industrial training in one-room 
school, 249. 

Women, percentage of, as teachers, 
108; question of effect of, as teach- 
ers of male youth, 108-109. 

Woodward, Dr. Calvin A., founder of 
St. Louis manual training school, 
238. 

Woodwork of schoolrooms, 138. 



Young People's Reading Circles, his- 
tory and value of, 269-270. 



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